Mjällby welcome Red Bull Salzburg to Strandvallen on Thursday evening for the first leg of their Europa League playoff tie.

The Swedish champions enter the competition after dropping out of Champions League qualifying, while Salzburg overcame Pafos in the previous round. Mjällby boosted morale with a dramatic league victory at the weekend, but Salzburg arrive in stronger overall form and with significantly greater European experience.

Mjällby

Mjällby’s historic 2025 campaign brought the club its first Allsvenskan title, finishing 13 points clear of Hammarby and earning a place in Champions League qualifying.

Their first venture into Europe’s leading club competition began successfully. Karl Marius Aksum’s side eliminated Lincoln Red Imps 3-0 on aggregate, but Slovan Bratislava proved too strong in the following round and sent Mjällby into the Europa League playoffs.

Their domestic title defence has been considerably more difficult. After 16 league matches, Mjällby sit 11th in the Allsvenskan and only four points above the relegation places.

There was at least a much-needed improvement at the weekend. Mjällby defeated league leaders Sirius 4-3 in a thrilling contest, providing a timely confidence boost before returning to European action.

Thursday will be another historic occasion at Strandvallen, with Mjällby playing in the Europa League for the first time and facing Austrian opposition for the first time in their history.

However, Aksum’s squad has changed since last season’s title success. Elliot Stroud has departed for Hull City, while striker Abdoulie Manneh has joined Cercle Brugge on loan. Finnish forward Timo Stavitski also remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from a back injury.

The challenge is therefore substantial, but Mjällby’s home victory over Sirius demonstrated that they still possess enough attacking threat to cause problems.

Red Bull Salzburg

Salzburg find themselves in unfamiliar territory after finishing third in the Austrian Bundesliga last season, meaning they are competing in Europa League qualifying for the first time in 11 years.

Danny Röhl’s side entered in the third qualifying round and successfully negotiated a difficult tie against Pafos. A 1-0 home victory gave Salzburg the advantage before they recovered from two goals down in Cyprus to draw 3-3 and secure a 4-3 aggregate success.

Their domestic campaign has also started encouragingly. Salzburg have collected seven points from their opening three Bundesliga matches and comfortably progressed in the Austrian Cup with a 7-1 victory over SV Oberwart.

A 3-0 victory away to WSG Tirol in their most recent fixture further strengthened that start and provides an ideal platform for Thursday’s trip to Sweden.

Salzburg do have several injury concerns. Justin Omoregie and Anrie Chase remain sidelined with thigh problems, while Stefan Lainer and Enrique Aguilar are not expected back for another couple of weeks. Soumaïla Diabaté, Edmund Baidoo and Gaoussou Diakité are also doubts after picking up knocks.

The squad has been weakened further by the recent departures of Aleksa Terzić and Lucas Gourna-Douath, but Salzburg still possess substantially more European experience than their opponents.

One concern is their record in Sweden. Their previous two visits both ended in 3-0 defeats against Malmö, although those results should have limited relevance to a completely different Salzburg side facing different opposition.

Verdict

Mjällby’s victory over Sirius came at an important time, but one encouraging result does not erase their difficult start to the Allsvenskan season.

Salzburg have begun the campaign much more consistently and showed character against Pafos when their Europa League progress came under threat in Cyprus. Their experience of European qualifying should also be valuable in a first leg where Mjällby will look to make Strandvallen as difficult a venue as possible.

The Swedish champions can make this competitive, but Salzburg should have enough quality to establish an advantage before the return fixture in Austria.

Tip

Red Bull Salzburg to win.