Birkirkara are wary of the tough task they face to extend an extra-ordinary run in the Europa League this summer by another round as they host Russian side Krasnodar at the Hibs Stadium today (kick-off: 7.30pm).

The Stripes wrote history in the annals of the local game following last week’s impressive 2-1 victory at Scottish side Hearts as they became the first Maltese team to negotiate two rounds of a UEFA club competition. And they’re still unbeaten after four matches!

Coach Drazen Besek admitted that victory at Tynecastle had raised the expectations’ bar by a few extra notches among the fans this summer.

He is warning his players to stay grounded but still wants them to show the same high levels of en-thusiasm as those against Siroki Brijeg and then Hearts.

“Our victory over Hearts did not go unnoticed and our opponents will not be taking us lightly in this round,” Besek said.

“Nobody expected Birkirkara to reach this far in the Europa League but we showed it was something possible to achieve and now our plans shouldn’t stop here.

“Krasnodar are a strong team. They have players of the highest calibre but I always tell my players that football matches are won on the pitch and not on paper.

“We respect Krasnodar but we’ll try to achieve a positive result here to keep the tie open before the return match next week.”

Besek said Birkirkara’s approach will have to vary from their previous match as Krasnodar adopt different tactics.

“Krasnodar play a different style of play to Hearts so we have to adapt to that,” Besek, 53, said.

“While Hearts, like most British teams, base their play on long balls towards their forwards, Krasnodar prefer to keep possession with quick movement off the ball.

“They’re strong at the back and have three international defenders in Ragnar Sigurdsson (Iceland), Stefan Sandberg (Norway) and An-dreas Granqvist (Sweden).”

Granqvist has just succeeded Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Sweden national team captain.

In attack, Krasnodar can bank on three very dangerous strikers – Ari, Wanderson and Joaozinho, all Brazilians.

“It’s going to be a very difficult test for us but at Birkirkara we step up our game when facing formidable challenges so I’m confident we can reach our objectives,” Besek added.

Besek has one injury worry as wing-back Edward Herrera, who scored against Hearts last week, only returned to training yesterday after struggling with muscle fatigue.

On a more positive note, Bir-kirkara can bank on midfielder Mislav Andelkovic against Krasnodar. The Croat is in line to make his first start since penning a new one-year contract with the Stripes earlier this month.

For Krasnodar this will be their first appearance in the Europa League this summer.

Oleg Kononov’s team qualified for Euro competition after finishing fourth in the Russian Premier League in 2015-16, nine points adrift of champions CSKA Moscow.

In pre-season, they played a few friendlies which included a 2-2 draw against Italy’s Udinese. Last week they thrashed fellow Russians FC Arsenal Tula 4-0 as they look to reach their pre-set goal of making the group stages this year.

Besek is calling on the Birkirkara supporters to give their backing from the stands this evening and encourage his players to produce their best showing in what promises to be a tough match.

“The fans have been tremendous with us this summer,” Besek said.

“They have followed us in every match we played so far and I’m sure that against Krasnodar they will fill the stadium again.”

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