Prediction: Aberdeen to win 2-0
Aberdeen and BK Hacken will lock horns with each other in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Qualifying Playoff Round this week. The match between the Scottish Premiership club and the Swedish Allsvenskan outfit will be held at the Pittodrie Stadium this week. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Thursday. The first leg was held at the Bravida Arena in Gothenburg and ended in a 2-2 draw.
Aberdeen
Aberdeen looked down and out for most of the match against BK Hacken last week, but two late goals means that the Scottish Premiership club are now the favourites to go through to the group stage of the UEFA Europa League. The tie, though, is far from over, especially when you consider that Barry Robson’s side are in poor form at the moment.
The Dons have made a terrible start to the Scottish Premiership campaign. Aberdeen are 10th in the league table at the moment with just three points from three matches. They are conceding too many goals, and thhat has to stop against Hacken for them to progress from the tie.
Aberdeen, though, will fancy their chances in the second leg. Having scored two late goals against the Swedish club, the team will be on a high and will have renewed confidence in themselves.
Team News:
Rhys Williams, on loan from Liverpool, is not available for the match due to a back injury. Angus MacDonald will keep his place in the Aberdeen team after recovering from a knee injury. Slobodan Rubezic and Jack McKenzie are likely to start for the home team as well.
BK Hacken
BK Hacken will be hugely disappointed with how the first leg against Aberdeen panned out in front of their own fans. Per-Mathias Høgmo’s side were 2-0 up after 69 minutes. Amor Layouni put Hacken in the lead after 36 minutes, and then on 69 minutes, Ibrahim Sadiq made it 2-0 from the penalty spot.
However, Aberdeen then made a strong comeback and scored two goals in quick succession. Bojan Miovski halved the deficit for the Scottish side on 75 minutes, and Nicky Devlin made it 2-2 just four minutes later. Hacken ended the game with 10 men after Johan Hammar was sent off in the 90th minute after picking up two yellow cards.
Peter Abrahamsson is the first-choice goalkeeper for BK Hacken, and he has faced Aberdeen before. Abrahamsson was in goal for the Swedish club when they faced Aberdeen in the Europa Conference League qualifiers in 2021. BK Hacken lost 5-1 to Aberdeen at the Pittodrie Stadium on that occasion, and Abrahamsson is keen on avoiding a repeat of history.
AberdeenLive quotes Abrahamsson as saying: “Pittodrie is a big stadium with a good atmosphere. It wasn’t a good night for us then, we let in far too many goals so we will have to do a lot better this time.
“Two years ago it was one of the manager’s first games, he was a new coach and that season was the start of what he’s built. That result in Scotland perhaps showed him exactly what was required to change things.
“Last season we improved a lot and we’re on another level than before now. He is a very good manager, he has changed the whole club.
“We play a different style and everyone knows what is expected of them now. We have better players, we have a lot of exciting young players in our squad now, and a better trainer than before.
“I think people will see we are a much better Hacken team this time around and I hope we show that with a win.”
Team News:
Ibrahim Sadiq will leave BK Hacken for Dutch club AZ Alkmaar in the summer transfer window, but the winger will still face Aberdeen on Thursday. It will be his final game for the Swedish team. Peter Abrahamsson will start in goal for the visiting team.
Key Factors to Consider
- Aberdeen have scored 3 goals in 3 Scottish Premiership matches this season.
- Aberdeen have conceded 5 goals in 3 Scottish Premiership matches this season.
- Aberdeen has 5 of their 17 shots on target against BK Hacken in the first leg
- BK Hacken had 61% of the possession against Aberdeen in the first leg.
- BK Hacken had 5 of their 18 shots on target against Aberdeen in the first leg.
Conclusion
Aberdeen were the better side against BK Hacken in the first leg last season, and it is unlikely that the Scottish Premiership club will have an issue getting the better of the Swedish team at home. Barry Robson’s side should win the second leg of the tie with ease and book their place in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.
Prediction: Aberdeen to win 2-0
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