THE LOWDOWN
We continue our UEFA Europa Conference League adventure with a third-qualifying tie against HNK Rijeka. After progressing through the second-qualifying round by beating Andorran top-flight side FC Santa Coloma 5-1 on aggregate, we now face the Croatian outfit in our 99th European outing.
The game at Easter Road is followed by the away leg at Stadion Rujevica the following Thursday (August 12).
If we progress, we've been drawn against either Bohemians (Ireland) or PAOK (Greece) in the playoff – that’s one round away from the group stage.
We come into the game following a positive start to the new campaign, winning both our matches against Santa Coloma and coming from behind twice to beat Motherwell for a thrilling opening-day win at Fir Park on Sunday. Kyle Magennis, Christian Doidge and Martin Boyle were all on the scoresheet in our first cinch Premiership fixture.
TEAM NEWS
Chris Cadden, Melker Hallberg and Sean Mackie are all still out with long-term injuries, while Joe Newell is available after a European suspension.
Josh Doig wasn’t in the squad for our Premiership opener against Motherwell and could miss out again. Ross said after our 3-2 win at Fir Park that he’s “highly likely” to exit Easter Road.
On a positive note, Scott Allan returned to the matchday squad at Fir Park and could feature for us.
THE VISITORS
HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia’s top-flight, HT Prva Liga – a league they’ve been members of since it was formed in 1992.
Usually seen wearing all white on home soil, the Croatian side are managed by Goran Tomic who joined in March 2021.
Rijeka finished third last season, but are currently top of the table, albeit after three games – they’ve won two and drawn one.
The visitors are the third-most successful Croatian football club, having won one Croatian First League title, six Croatian Cups and one Croatian Super Cup.
In terms of European football, they beat Maltese side Gzira United FC 3-0 on aggregate over the two legs to progress to this stage of the competition.
They’ve played 92 matches in European competitions, predominantly in the Europa League, making 68 appearances. They were in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League in 2013/14, 2014/15, 2017/18 and 2020/21. Rijeka have also featured in the Champions League on eight occasions, winning two qualifiers.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This will be the first time we’ve faced HNK Rijeka, but we have faced a Croatian outfit before.
In 1973, we were beaten 5-4 on aggregate against Hajduk Split in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. We won the first leg 4-2 but lost 3-0 away from home. Hajduk are now seven-time Croatian champions, but back then they formed back of Yugoslavia.
Rijeka have twice faced Aberdeen in Europa League qualifying. In 2019/20 they won 4-0 over two legs. And in 2015/16 they lost 5-2 on aggregate. Aberdeen won 3-0 in Croatia, to inflict Rijek’s biggest ever home loss in Europe.
HOW TO WATCH
If you're not heading to Easter Road, pay-per-view is available for £11.99. Dougie Donnelly is joined again by ex-Hibs defender and manager John Hughes.
You can also tune in to our preview show, The Hibee Buzz, on Hibs TV and YouTube from 10am on Thursday.