Harambee Stars internationals Erick ‘Marcelo’ Ouma, Collins Sichenje and Henry Meja, who all ply their trade at Swedish top flight side AIK, alongside Daniel Anyembe (Viborg) and Linton Maina (FC Koln) will all be hoping to have a good start on Thursday night when their teams play the first leg matches of the Uefa Europa Conference League playoff round which is the final qualifying stage.In the two legged ties set to be played within a week, winners will automatically guarantee their spot in the group stage. Here is a preview of the action to come.##NAJAVA_MECA_6572645##Slovacko vs AIK (2000EAT)Marcelo, Sichenje and Meja will begin their group stage quest with an away trip to Czech Republic where they face home side Slovacko at the Městský fotbalový stadion Miroslava Valenty.Having successfully navigated their way past the second and third qualifying round, the Swedish outfit, who were league runners up last season, will be hoping to cement their place in the Group Stages with a positive start to the game.10 000 är bra – men visst kan vi bättre?— AIK Fotboll (@aikfotboll) August 17, 2022 West Ham vs Viborg (2145EAT)Viborg, home to Kenyan right back Anyembe – who is born to a Kenyan father – will face an uphill task, when they lock horns against English Premier League side West Ham at the London Stadium.In the match against the 2021/2022 Europa League semifianlists, Anyembe and his side must be at the peak of their powers if they are to stage any upset.South African club on the verge of announcing Sven Yidah’s signing🔜 Næste opgave! 🔥 #UECL pic.twitter.com/QkrPAJHlSV— Viborg FF ☘️ (@viborgff) August 15, 2022 “It probably won’t be a walkover. A big and exciting task awaits, not only against a Premier League team, but also a team that a few months ago played in the Europa League semi-finals, and also did well in the Premier League last season. It is indisputably an insanely difficult task ahead of us, but we are really looking forward to it.Our approach to the match will be the same as always, but of course without being naive. There are obviously some individual qualities in the teams that will be different, but our way of preparing and approaching the game will be the same. West Ham will probably do things with more juice and power than we are used to, so of course we have to be sharp, and are aware that we have a huge task ahead of us,” Viborg head coach Jacob Friis remarked ahead of the game.FC Koln vs MOL Fehervar (2100EAT)Linton Maina who is born to a Kenyan father and a German mother will go into the tie with hi German side Koln as the favourites when they welcome the Hungarian side.Unlike AIK and Viborg, Koln did not go through the preliminary qualification rounds and are expected to deal with the challenge presented by Fehervar quite easily.
