In the Europa Conference League Round of 16 on February 19, 2026, Drita and Celje will face off. Both teams are eager to start the tournament playoffs with a victory.
The Kosovars reclaimed the championship title in 2025 after a five-year break. They still have a chance to remain the best in the Superliga, but the competition is intense, and more fortunate rivals have better odds. The Slovenians dropped from first to fourth place last spring but managed to win the cup. Now, they’ve built a ten-point lead. However, earlier this month, Albert Riera left to coach Eintracht.
The team from Gjilan started the summer in the Champions League by defeating Differdange, but then twice lost to Copenhagen. After dropping to the Europa League, they lost both matches to FCSB. Falling into the current competition, they managed to beat another team from Luxembourg in the summer. In the main round, they alternately drew twice, won (both times 1-0), and finally lost in December.
The current visitors advanced past Sabah in the Europa League but then failed against AEK Larnaca. However, they succeeded in the Conference League qualifiers against Lugano and Banik, and continued their winning streak in autumn, beating AEK, Shamrock Rovers, and Legia. Later, they suffered away defeats to Sigma and Rijeka, and drew 0-0 with Shelbourne in December.
Drita vs Celje: Key Statistics and Trends
Drita lost both of their last two matches, both times with a score of 0-3
The team scores an average of 0.67 goals and concedes 1.33
Celje lost two of their last three games
The club scores an average of 1.8 goals and concedes 1.1
Drita vs Celje: Possible Starting Line-ups
Drita (probable line-up): Behluli – Sheji, Pelumbi, Beytulai, Krasniqi – Ovuka, Mustafa, Dabikaj, Ajzeraj – Krasniqi, Manaj
Celje (probable line-up): Leban – Nieto, Tutyshkin, Calusic, Beiger – Avdili, Evsenak, Kvesic, Seslar, Vidovic – Iosifov
Previous Matches: Drita vs Celje
This is the first head-to-head meeting between the teams.
