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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
Sport
Gareth Fullerton

Who are FC Drita? Linfield's opponents in the Champions League?

Linfield 's European odyssey continues on Tuesday with the final of their Champions League preliminary round mini-tournament in Switzerland.

The Blues take on FC Drita in the final, which is being played behind closed doors at the Colovray Sports Centre in Nyon (5pm kick-off BST).

David Healy's side beat San Marino's Tre Fiori in Saturday's semi-final.

But who are FC Drita? And what type of test can the Blues expect?

Here's some background info...

Profile

Name : FC Drita

Where from : Kosovo

Colours : White and blue

League : Football Superleague of Kosovo

Home ground : Gjilan City Stadium (8,900 capacity)

Background

FC Drita are a professional football club based in Gjilan, Kosovo.

They play their football in the Football Superleague of Kosovo.

They have won their domestic league title three times, including twice in the last three years.

They have three other domestic trophies to their name including the Kosovar Supercup.

How did they get on last season?

They were crowned champions after the Kosovan season was completed despite a temporary suspension of fixtures due to the coronavirus pandemic.

European experience

Drita have played in Europe a total of seven times, including five times in the Champions League where they have won three of those games.

They came through the 2018 preliminary round of the Champions League when they defeated FC Santa Coloma of Andorra and Lincoln Red Imps from Gibraltar.

How did they get on in the semi-finals of this tournament?

Drita beat Inter d'Escaldes 2-1 in their preliminary round semi-final game, with goals from Shabani and Namani.

How do they line up?

Drita played a 4-1-4-1 formation in their win over Inter.

Goalscorer Namani plays the holding midfielder role, with Rexha operating as a lone striker.

What happens after this?

The winners of this evening's game will progress to the first qualifying round of the Champions League where they will travel to Polish side Legua Warsaw.

The three other teams from the preliminary round mini-tournament go into the second qualifying round of the Europa League.

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