Thursday night often means Europa League night and the final qualifying round concludes this week for most teams. After a goalless first leg in Scotland, Hibernian travel to Molde in attempt to make the group stages.

STATS

• Molde secured entry into the Europa League qualifiers with a 2^nd-place finish in the 2017 Eliteserien table behind Rosenborg. They’ve got a good chance of repeating that as they sit 3^rd in the table after 18 fixtures which would be enough for them to quality continentally again. They breezed past Glenavon (6-3 on aggregate) and Laç (5-0 on aggregate) to get to the 3^rd qualifying round.
• A 4^th-place finish in the Scottish Premier League last season saw Hibernian enter the Europa League qualifiers in the 1^st round, alongside Rangers. They are currently 2^nd this term but after just two matches, it’s far too hard to judge their chances. They battered NSÍ in the 1^st round with a 12-5 aggregate scoreline before narrowly beating Asteras Tripolis 4-3 in the last round.
• Only one player has more goals in Norway’s top-flight than Molde’s Erling Braut Håland who has scored nine goals in 16 matches.
• Both Florian Kamberi and Stevie Mallan have scored four Europa League goals so far for Hibs as the Scottish side have already scored 16 goals in their five matches.

HEAD TO HEAD

As you’d expect, the first leg of this tie is the only time the two sides have faced in Europe. They played out a cagey 0-0 draw which could’ve swung either way throughout the 90 minutes, both sides had their goalkeepers to thank on several occasions during the match.

MOLDE NEWS

Molde’s only downfall in the first leg was that they failed to score an away goal but they still have a huge chance of progression on Thursday. Martin Elingsen is a major doubt with a knee injury so will possibly only make the bench.

Latest matches: Molde FK

12.08.2018	Elit	Molde FK	SK Brann	5:1	W
09.08.2018	UEFA	Hibernian FC	Molde FK	0:0	D
05.08.2018	Elit	Lillestrom SK	Molde FK	2:2	D
02.08.2018	UEFA	KF Laci	Molde FK	0:2	W
26.07.2018	UEFA	Molde FK	KF Laci	3:0	W

HIBERNIAN NEWS

Hibs failed to take advantage of the home first leg but ensured that they didn’t concede, that means a score draw will take them through on the away goals ruling. They are without Adam Bogdan, Darren McGregor and Ofir Marciano for the second leg.

Latest matches: Hibernian FC

12.08.2018	Prem	FC St Johnstone	Hibernian FC	1:1	D
09.08.2018	UEFA	Hibernian FC	Molde FK	0:0	D
05.08.2018	Prem	Hibernian FC	Motherwell FC	3:0	W
02.08.2018	UEFA	Asteras Tripolis	Hibernian FC	1:1	D
26.07.2018	UEFA	Hibernian FC	Asteras Tripolis	3:2	W

SUMMARY

A goalless first leg has left this tie perfectly poised ahead of Thursday. Hibernian know that an away goal is massive and they should score while Molde must stay tight at the back. A score draw looks most likely which would mean Hibernian would qualify on away goals. A narrow win for either side wouldn’t be a huge shock, it should be a tight affair in Norway.