Riga and Kauno Žalgiris continue their Conference League campaign with home and away game

The UEFA Conference League continues on Thursday evening with two Baltic clubs in action in the third round of the league phase. Latvian runners-up Riga FC will host Czech side Jablonec at Skonto Stadium, while Lithuanian champions Kauno Žalgiris face a difficult away trip to Switzerland to take on in-form FC Lugano. Both matches are scheduled to kick off at 22:00 Baltic time.

Riga FC enter their third Conference League fixture with two points from their opening two matches, having recorded consecutive 1-1 draws against Kazakhstan’s Kairat at home and Cypriot side Pafos away.

Their opponents, Jablonec, have also collected one point from two matches, although the Czech club have faced considerably tougher opposition. They began their campaign with a narrow 2-3 defeat away to Bundesliga side Freiburg before holding Premier League club Brighton to a goalless draw at home.

For Jablonec, Thursday’s match will mark their second visit to Rīga in just a few months. The Czech side previously travelled to the Latvian capital in August to face RFS in the third qualifying round of the Conference League, eliminating the newly crowned Latvian champions with a convincing 4-1 aggregate victory.

The fixture also carries a personal connection for Riga FC head coach Adrian Guľa, who spent three years playing for Jablonec during his professional career.

After an impressive start to the domestic season, Jablonec have experienced a slight dip in form and currently sit eighth in the Czech top flight after 13 rounds. However, the standings remain extremely tight, with just four points separating them from second place.

Riga FC, meanwhile, will be looking to put their domestic disappointment behind them after losing the Virslīga title race to RFS. With two draws already on the board, Guľa’s side will hope to turn their competitive European performances into a first victory of the league phase.

In Switzerland, two-time Lithuanian champions Kauno Žalgiris face one of the Conference League’s most in-form teams, with Lugano enjoying an outstanding start to the season.

The Swiss club currently lead their domestic championship by nine points, having dropped points just once in their opening 12 league matches. Their only slip came on 12 September, when they drew 2-2 against Young Boys.

Including their European and Swiss Cup fixtures, Lugano remain unbeaten in all competitions this season, recording an impressive 19 victories and three draws.

Their European campaign has been equally convincing. Lugano opened the Conference League league phase with a 3-2 victory over Serbian giants Crvena Zvezda before defeating Spanish La Liga side Getafe 5-2 in an entertaining encounter.

Kauno Žalgiris, on the other hand, have endured a difficult introduction to the Conference League proper, suffering two heavy defeats in their opening matches.

The Lithuanian champions began with a 0-4 away defeat against Brighton before losing 1-4 at home to Norwegian side Brann in the second round. Brazilian forward Renan Oliveira scored the club’s first-ever goal in the main stage of a European competition during that match.