Swedish champions as final hurdle to league phase

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·18 August 2026

Swedish champions as final hurdle to league phase

Facing Mjällby for a UEFA Europa League spot

We are just a step away from the UEFA Europa League. In the play-off, we will face the reigning Swedish champions and cup winners, Mjällby AIF. We first face them this Thursday 20 August at 18:00 CEST with the first leg away from home. At the small but charming Strandvallen Stadium, nestled between the Baltic Sea coast and a campsite, we will aim to secure the best possible starting position for the second leg at home a week later.

Participation in a European league is already secured for both teams - the only question is whether it will be the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Conference League. For our Swedish opponents, it will be their first European appearance either way, after Mjällby surprised the entire country with their title win in 2025 (more on that in our opposition profile). The players from the fishing village in the south of the country have lost some momentum in the new season, however. After 16 or 17 rounds played in the Allsvenskan, the team currently sits in eleventh place out of 16, with only a few points separating them from the relegation zone. However, the team showed great spirit this past weekend. Trailing 0-3 against league leaders Sirius, they ultimately rallied to a 4-3 victory!

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In their European qualifying campaign, Mjällby defeated Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar 3-0 on aggregate in the second round of UEFA Champions League qualifying, followed by a 1-4 defeat against Slovan Bratislava (SVK) in the third round. We'll see how the Swedish champions fare against our Red Bulls on Thursday. At least we were able to boost our confidence with a 3-0 win against WSG Tirol and a hard-fought victory against Pafos FC!

You can watch the upcoming away game live and for free on ServusTV or ServusTV On. If you'd like to cheer our boys on in person, you'll find all the essential information in our away info.

to the away info

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The My RBS Prediction Game is back for the new season! Here you can compete against your friends and other fans week after week and win great prizes – participation is completely free!

You can now also predict the qualifying matches of our Red Bulls. So, if you haven't already, register directly using the button below and enter your predictions for the upcoming matchday.

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Injury news

Enrique Aguilar (forearm), Soumaila Diabate (thigh), Gaoussou Diakite (thigh) and Johannes Moser (adductors) are unavailable for this match. Frans Krätzig will be out for some time with a thigh injury.
The availability of Leandro Morgalla, who suffered a knock to his knee against WSG Tirol, is still in doubt.

Views

We need to do our homework, analyse our opponents thoroughly, recover well, and conserve our energy. We need a fresh mind and fresh legs because we'll be facing very physically strong and robust Swedish champions.

Danny Röhl

We've had a very solid season so far, haven't lost a single game, and therefore deservedly made it to the play-offs. If we remain undefeated in Sweden, that would put us in a very good position for the second leg. We absolutely mustn't make the mistake of underestimating our opponent just because they aren't a big name. We're prepared for tough and aggressive opponents, and we'll have to give it our all.

Abubakr Barry