Slovenian Prva Liga 25/26 Season Preview

An old joke at this point is that to know the destination of the Slovenian title, you’re best off looking at the final weekend of the season and then working from there, given the relative reliability of Slovenia in providing title races that go to the final day. We’ve had a couple of seasons without that but it’d be a pretty fair bet that this season may return us to that trend because rarely will a Prva Liga season begin with such uncertainty and such excitement as this season’s - both factors driven by the title chasing cohort all bringing in quality in quantity.

So while you might reasonably look at, say, Olimpija losing five pretty senior players headed by Raul Florucz and Marcel Ratnik, you’d look at the incomings of Dimitar Mitrovski, Jost Urbancic and Jan Gorenc and think they may have come out on the best side of that business. They’re not the only club you could say similar of. With the top four getting business done early to prep for European qualifying and the league starting next week, there’s no better time to go through the runners and also-rans of the months to come…

Olimpija Ljubljana

Last season - Champions

Transfers Out - Raul Florucz (Union Saint-Gilloise, €5m), Marcel Ratnik (Al-Ain UAE, €2m), David Sualehe (Noah, Free), Justas Lasickas (Rijeka, Free), Denis Pintol (Primorje, Free), Jorge Silva (Free)

Transfers In - Dimitar Mitrovski (Varazdin, £1m), Jost Urbancic (Viking, £350k) Jan Gorenc (Eupen, Free), Veljko Jelenkovic (Slaven Sofia, Free), Diga (Feirense, Free), Frederic Ananou (Regensburg, Free), Matevz Dajcar (Atlanta Primavera, Free)

Head Coach - Jorge Simao replaces Victor Sanchez who left at the end of his contract - Sanchez was in negotiations to stay but differences in demands (rumoured to be around the speed of investment in facilities and infrastructure) weren’t reconcilable. Olimpija are Simao’s 14th club in 11 years. Last time Olimpija appointed a Portuguese manager, it didn’t go well and Simao’s recent managerial history doesn’t emphatically suggest he’ll be successful. On the other hand, Victor Sanchez’s didn’t either and, for other reasons, Olimpija’s board have enough credit in the bank to expect this to work

Analysis - Olimpija will no doubt be up there again. If you wanted to make a statement, making Mitrovski the first £1m transfer into the league is definitely that. And, while RUSG might not agree with me saying it, Mitrovski is probably better all-in-all than Florucz is - while the last few months of Florucz were undoubtedly effective, there were also disagreements with Victor Sanchez and times when his attitude was called into question and the fee, for a player picked up for free two years ago and entering the last year of his contract, is a magnificent one. Mitrovski isn’t the runner or dribbler that Florucz is but there are few players even at a higher level with a better positional sense than he possesses and he will chip in assists and goals without really looking like doing all that much other than just turning up in the right place at the right time.

From an attacking perspective, Olimpija are very good. Both Alex Blanco and Marko Brest contributed well last season, a fit Antonio Marin is, if he can get back up to speed after his long injury lay-off, a huge asset and they have options up front. If you’re picking an attacking area where they may need a reinforcement, it is at striker - Alex Tamm is an absolute tank of a striker but he didn’t fully make the case for himself in his half season, Dino Kojic hasn’t quite got the consistency at this stage and Ivan Durdov is an option rather than a starter in this company.

If you want to make the argument against Olimpija, it is makeable - it’s hard to make an argument that the losses of defensive players have been replaced to the point that their loss won’t be felt and, on the evidence of one 90 minutes in Champions League Qualifying vs Kairat is anything to go by, that loss will be felt quite keenly.. I’m no Urbancic fan, Diga is a low risk get but unlikely to be to the level of Lasickas, Gorenc is decent but not Ratnik and the same can be said of Jelenkovic. There’s also the potential that Peter Agba will be sold - albeit he’s also a player I’m not the biggest fan of - which would mean Doffo and Celhaka as a central midfield which is extremely classy but not exactly dynamic. The immediate future of Matevz Vidovsek does seem to be in Ljubljana, at least.

If you spend what Olimpija have spent this summer, in this league, you automatically make yourselves favourites. Whatever argument you make against them could be countered - they’re weaker at the back but they’re stronger in attack; they’ve a new manager but that might have been needed as they did slack off a bit towards the end of the season; they’ve lost a leader in Ratnik, but they’ve kept one in Vidovsek and sold a potentially disruptive presence in Florucz. Is it enough given what everyone else is doing? This isn’t a season where you can stand still to stay ahead.

Key Player - Dimitar Mitrovski. It can’t be anyone else, can it? When you break the nation’s transfer record, that player has to deliver. He is a different prospect to defences than Florucz was but can certainly match Florucz’s 15 goals of last term. Mitrovski will need to hit double figures for the first time in his career if Olimpija are to retain their title.

Prediction - 1st

Maribor

Last season - 2nd

Transfers Out - Marko Bozic (Free, Erzurumspor), Josip Ilicic (Free, Koper), Blaz Vrhovec (Retired), Martin Milec (Retired from professional football), Kai Meriluoto (end of loan, HJK)

Transfers In - Mark Spanring (Free, Bravo), Isaac Tshipamba (Free, Quevilly Rouen), Mohamed Bamba (Free, Martigues), Benjamin Tetteh (Loan turned to buy, Metz)

Head Coach - Tugberk Tanrivermis is a very interesting successor to Bostjan Cesar. He’s one you’d expect given he’s Turkish and the owners are so they’re bringing in what they know. But he’s a decent amount more promising than that - in addition to his time in the backroom at Galatasaray comes six years in Italy in the Primavera for Roma and his one senior role at Sankt Polten saw him take over a side doing very badly and turning them into a hard to beat and free-scoring outfit. Maribor is a step up in expectation and demand over a full season, but Tanrivermis is a fun appointment that may well make a big splash,

Analysis - History would tell you that Maribor are pretty overdue a title and, taking out a couple of silly results, they were the best side of the Spring, beating both Celje and Olimpija away from home. Now, in Tanrivermis, they have an extremely promising manager who, with the greatest respect to Bostjan Cesar, is a far stronger presence in the dugout than they ended last season with. He may not have proven himself at senior level over a full season, and certainly not in the context of being expected to try to win things, but it feels like a good appointment for all parties.

As for his chance, last season’s failure to push Olimpija further is pretty easy to write off given that Maribor’s takeover was confirmed far later than expected and that they had no time to really put together a team under the sort of budget they should have had in the first place. What was left was a side with some talents that had big reputations but were what was left, not what they wanted in the first place and, as such, Maribor’s talents were somewhat unbalanced.

That hasn’t quite been sorted. Mohamed Bamba is a solid acquisition but, outside of him, the central midfield is just Ziga and Jan Repas and, as such, they feel a man short. Sheyi Ojo became a full time left back last season and, while Gregor Sikosek has returned after his loan to HNK Gorica, between Ojo and new signing Mark Spanring, it’s the case that behind Sikosek are two part-time left backs (while with Sirvys and Spanring as RBs, that area is stacked). Up front, they’re perhaps overloaded - Tetteh, Tshippamba and another loan return in Mbina is a silly strikeforce for this level and, assisted by Komaromi, Ojo (if he’s back to his usual role), El Arbi “Yes, he’s still got it” Hilal Soudani, and young products Nio Grlic and Tine Cuk.

The counter argument is simply that Maribor were frustrated quite a bit last season and their business has brought in some good players but they still look short of someone who could unlock a packed defence. Defensively, the left back role does feel unresolved and the centre back roles are all filled with good players - but others may have better. A lot rests on Tranrivermis hitting the ground running - if he does, Maribor can sprint to the title. If he doesn’t, then how much patience would he be afforded?

Key Player - Gyorgy Komaromi. Perhaps not the obvious pick but Komaromi came with a big reputation and wasn’t really effective in his first season, with only one goal and zero assists. For Maribor to break down defences, he needs to have a big season and deliver a lot more.

Prediction - 3rd

Koper

Last season - 3rd

Transfers Out - All Frees - Gabriel Groznica, Di Mateo Lovric, Denis Popovic, Nikola Krajinovic

Transfers In - All Frees - Jasmin Celikovic, Brice Negouai, Josip Ilicic, Charles Divalle

Head Coach - Slavisa Stojanovic returned in March and Koper promptly didn’t lose for the remainder of the season, beating Celje away and drawing vs Maribor and Olimpija at home in those final ten. Koper were Stojanovic’s first coaching role since COVID forced him away from Levski Sofia in 2021 but, though it’s been a while, he knows how to win things and, for a Koper side that has come close in recent memory, that extra bit of nous may be all they’re needing to tip them over the edge. With Stojanovic now an elder statesman of the Slovenian game, Koper represent a good project for a coach with no itch to scratch by going elsewhere.

Analysis - Compared to the others in last season’s top four, it seems somewhat fanciful to think Koper might be in the running for the title this season. After all, their frontline could easily average an age of 35, they aren’t bringing in big players with prime age profiles and, if you go by transfermarkt valuations, their squad is significantly poorer than Olimpija, Celje and Maribor.

Except, poking holes in this Koper side is mightily difficult. Metod Jurhar is a solid keeper, in focusing on their defence when it comes to transfer business, they’ve upgraded the bit off the side that really needed it (not to mention their scouting of France is so good at this point, I expect Negouai and Divalle to succeed) and their frontline may be old, but it knows how to score. On his day, Deni Juric is the best striker in the league, ably supported by his brother Tomi, a fine striker in his own right. Isaac Matondo and Omar El Manssouri are proven as two of the better wingers in the league and they’re now sticking Josip Ilicic in between them - who will no doubt have a serious chip on his shoulder after how things went at Maribor last season.

Yet, if you were to sit pre-season and state sincerely “Koper will win the league” then I would have some magic beans to sell you. Unlike the other sides in the title race, Koper lack that 10/10 player who can change any game in this league and all of Olimpija, Maribor and Celje possess that. But they’re a solid 7/10 across the park and if things blend nicely, that’s enough if everyone is taking points from everyone else. They should get 60 points. They could get 70 points and that could be enough if things go very much in their favour. But that very specific set of circumstances isn’t very likely.

Key Player - As tempting as it is to say Josip Ilicic, it’s Deni Juric. At 27, he’s at his prime and although 11 in 20 last season is nothing to be sniffed at, 4 of those were in a single game. In my opinion, he’s got a 20+ goal season in him at this level - the sort of numbers that would get him very close to a seat to the USA for next summer’s World Cup. For a player who has looked close to making that sort of breakthrough more than once, this season is the perfect chance for him to become the second Juric brother to play for his country.

Prediction - 4th

Celje

Last season - 4th

Transfers Out - Tamar Svetlin (£750k, Korona Kielce), Aljosa Matko (£450k, Ujpest), Svit Seslar and Egor Prutsev (Loans ended), Jost Pisek (Loan, Stal Mielec), Klemen Nemanic (Free, DAC), Nejc Ahmajer (Free, Mura), Nino Kouter, Inigo Eguaras (both end of contract)

Transfers In - Milot Avdyli (£150k, Vorskla), Simon Sluga (Free, Maccabi T-A), David Castro (Free, Ferrol), Andrej Kotnik (Free, Dalian City), Danijel Sturm (Free, Domzale), Darko Hrka (Free, Nafta), Zan Luk Leban (Free, Everton), Ivica Vidovic (Free, Triglav), Gasper Vodeb (Free, Tabor Sezana), Franko Kovacevic (Undisclosed, Wehen)

Head Coach - Albert Riera’s career to date possibly splits into two distinct eras - pre-Bordeaux and post-Bordeaux. Putting Europe to one side, he’s cut a noticeably grumpier figure in his second spell at Celje than before leaving Slovenia. Pre-Bordeaux, things went so well that nothing seemed to bother him, second time round his communications with press were more likely to see him annoyed, to have a go at players and, not to mention, start wars of words with opponents, not least Victor Sanchez. 25/26 is a big one for Riera - out of contract at the end of the season and needing to deliver more than the unpredictable domestic campaign of last term.

Analysis - Much like Maribor, step one is to look at why Celje didn’t win it all last season and it’s very easy to see why - Celje were the top scorers in the league by a distance. Their defensive record was in the bottom half. Their season record vs Radomlje, for example saw them win three and lose one with a goals F/A of 18:8 or, you know, a casual 6.5 goals per 90. That’s silly but it covers Celje’s issues quite nicely - they did not have a stable goalkeeping situation so they didn’t really have a stable defensive situation - they kept a total of seven clean sheets all season of which three were 0-0.

As such, when Celje’s attacking line didn’t work, the impact was huge and, when your attack is based around Aljosa Matko who alternates between boiling hot and freezing cold without really having an in-between, that doesn’t bode well for a consistent title charge.

How has Albert Riera gone about fixing that? For a start, we have a pair of new goalkeepers - Simon Sluga at 32 should be in his prime and Zan-Luk Leban was well thought of in England. That is surely one problem solved.

Up front is a thornier prospect - Lithuanian international Armandas Kucys is out injured with a cruciate tear likely for the entire Autumn and he is likely the deadliest striker the league has to offer. Matko has moved on to Hungary which puts a lot of responsibility on the back of Franko Kovacevic to come in and hit the ground running. The issue with that is that Kovacevic turns 26 in August and still only really has one decent goalscoring season on his CV - at Domzale in 22/23.

Andrej Kotnik, meanwhile, is plenty proven at this level but plays in behind the striker, which is an area where Celje have too many bodies. As a Matko replacement, Celje only really can call on Milot Avdyli also to play off the right given both Iosifov and Sturm do their best work on the opposite side. Defensively, they’re mid - Damjan Vuklisevic just isn’t it and David Castro needs to work for Celje to protect their last line of defence.

As such, it’s really hard to know where to rate Celje. On their day, much like last season, they can demolish any side in the league. On other days, they can shoot themselves in the foot in spectacular fashion. Looking from the outside, you’d probably say they’re slightly worse than last season and you’d also probably have a hard time guessing what that squad’s best formation might be - given the lack of width in attack, 3-4-2-1 may be the best fit but that will test their depth at centre back even if it does allow them to get most of their attacking players on the pitch.

Yet they can’t fail to be better at the back this term now the goalkeeping situation is very much sorted. It would not be an exaggeration to state that cost them over ten points last season and that in itself would bring Celje into the top two.

Key Player - Mark Zabukovnik. Celje are loaded with attacking talent and Zabukovnik is the water carrier, the holding man, the person holding all that together. A big season for him wouldn’t be a huge leap in standard but it would have a huge impact on Celje’s ability to control games and getting away from the chaos of last season.

Prediction - 2nd

Bravo

Last season - 5th

Transfers Out - Mark Spanring (End of Contract, Maribor), Matija Orbanic (End of Contract, Erzurumspor)

Transfers In - Luka Kerin (Free, Mura)

Head Coach - Slovenia’s most stable club keeps Ales Arnol to start his third full season as Bravo manager. He can be forgiven last season spluttering out a little bit given the investment at other clubs and Bravo’s own investment in their facilities. Being closer to the top four than the bottom five counted as a good season but a poor March put them out of the European race - Arnol’s expectations will surely to be on the fringes of European qualification once again.

Analysis - That the transfer section is so short shows Bravo’s stability. Their transfer business has one question mark, however - the future of Martin Pecar. He’s been subject to a bid from Olimpija but the dragons haven’t met Bravo’s valuation (or, for that matter, my idea of his valuation - not that that counts for anything). If that’s met, that’s a serious gap for Ales Arnol to try to fill as, while he may not have hit the heights of his first term last season, he is still an exceptional talent and a difference maker at this level - but this is a contract year for him so Bravo may choose to cash in on a player who is absolutely ready to play at a higher level.

But Bravo are fine. When the worst thing you can say about a side is “they could do with a couple more in numbers”, then you don’t have much to complain about. Borna Buljan stepping up to be the full replacement for Matija Orbanic is likely another one confirming Bravo as Slovenia’s young goalkeeper factory. They’re a right back short but will surely give Lan Hribar a chance to step up before reacting and have ample experience, leadership and quality in their starters elsewhere in the defensive line. Beno Selan in midfield may prove to be their best homegrown talent yet and there’s little weakness in the midfield. In addition, watching Venuste Baboula play football is one of the most exciting things you can do in Slovenian football - he gets the ball, dribbles really quickly and challenges anyone to stop him and even, occasionally, has some end product at the end of it. As a devotee of “people who run fast and that’s about it”, he is absolutely a player I’ll root for.

Up front is perhaps the only weakness and even then a minor one - Matej Poplatnik is 32 now and he will surely slow down at some point after two consecutive career best seasons. Luka Kerin, who hasn’t shown his quality since 20/21, will be backed to provide him with some support but Bravo need one of their horde of promising academy players to step up - Tais Sabotic has shown glimpses while Mark Kerin may get chances soon in defence.

I can’t (and wouldn’t) make any sort of argument that Bravo will be in imminent trouble. There are far more likely candidates for that. Which leaves the question if Bravo can be in European contention.

While Bravo’s first XI, in form, is a game for anyone, they don’t have the squad depth of any of last season’s top four. Alex Arnol will likely look to get himself a starting RB and another striker in back up between here and the end of August. That will surely be more than enough to have Bravo in glorious isolation in 5th once more.

Key player - With the future of Pecar in the air, it’s got to be Nemanja Jaksic. While Poplatnik is relied on to score, Jaksic is your defensive organiser, lynchpin and, at this point, the leader and face of the club. Even if Poplatnik misfires, Jaksic makes them hard to beat and keeps the points ticking.

Prediction - 5th

Primorje

Last season - 6th

Transfers Out - Tarik Candic (Free, Tabor Sezana), Domagoj Babin, Leon Ferreno, Alvaro Uriarte, Radovan Rakic (all end of contract), Josip Posavec (End of Loan)

Transfers In - Stefan Melentijevic (Free, Khimki), Para (Free, Amazonas), Jon Ficko (Free, Slovan), Denis Pintol (Loan, Olimpija)

Head Coach - A fourth season in charge for Milan Andjelkovic with each season so far seeing a rise in Primorje’s league position. While that trick is harder to pull off this season, he now has to deal with expectations and second season syndrome.

Analysis - Last summer, the two promoted clubs took different paths to try to stay up. Nafta brought in a small army of players - and went down. Primorje gave the players that got them up a chance, added just a couple of players and are still here. Score one for letting guys have a proper go at it.

And you would be pushed to have too many complaints about how they’ve gone about trying to handle season two. Josip Posavec was a fine keeper last season but Denis Pintol is a fine replacement overdue a run at being a starting keeper at this level. Stefan Melentijevic has experience in the Russian top flight and is a solid low risk punt in the centre of defence and Para… well, I’m not going to claim I know the first thing about him but Juventud is a pretty good academy so he won’t be bad.

Primorje’s squad building plan is, as best as I can tell, to find rough diamonds and give them the chance others gave up on which, somehow, equals success.

The thing is, it does actually kind of work. Maribor couldn’t get a half-decent performance out of Ishaq Rafiu… but Primorje did. Zan Besir had fallen through the cracks at three Prva Liga clubs… but Primorje made him one of the most effective midfielders in the division. Haris Kadric, Maj Fogec, Mirko Mutavcic and more - Primorje have offered a second or third chance to these players at this level and each of them responded. So, fair play Milan Andjelkovic because he’s quite evidently cooking.

If, and it’s a big if, that hit rate continues and the players who improved last season continue to improve, there’s an outside shot of Primorje challenging for Europe, albeit I’d expect that if anyone had a hot Autumn, they’d be at another club by February to try to fund further success. On squad strength, after all, there’s no massively compelling reason why they’re worse than Bravo other than the years of trust any observer would place in Bravo’s project and judgement. From what I’ve seen of them pre-season, also, they’ll be one of the most dangerous crossing sides in the league.

Much like Bravo, they’re easy to predict because we know there’s four better sides. There’s definitely four worse/messier sides than them also.

Key Player - Zan Besir. In the winter, you’d have thought he’d have moved but a quieter spring quietened that chat. On his day, one of the best midfielders in the league and, with the younger second chance talent around him (not least, Niko Rak), his form won’t just bring Primorje points, it’ll bring the entire midfield on with them.

Prediction - 6th

Mura

Last season - 7th

Transfers Out - Leard Sadriu (Free, Arges), Matic Vrbanec (Free, Iberia 1999), Mario Mustapic (Free, Montana), Gal Kurez (Free, Paralimniou), Luka Kerin (Free, Bravo), Tarik Bagola and Vid Sumenjak (Free, Beltinci), Filippo Tripi and Nikola Jovicevic (End of contract)

Transfers In - Nejc Dermastija (Free, Ilirija), Raphael Hofer (Free, RB Salzburg), Nejc Ahmajer (Free, Celje), Faad Sana (Free, Wolfsberg II), Tomislav Glavan (Free, Opatija)

Head Coach - Mura got through four managers last season, starting with Anton Zlogar, moving to Oskar Drobne, then Matjaz Kek Jr who stepped back to allow Ivan Kurtusic to take charge - each manager had lower ppg than the one before and, realistically, the Mura seat has been a bit of an ejector seat since Damir Contala left in 2023. Kurtusic’s record in Serbia was so-so and this season will see his team and his tactics for the first time.

Analysis - Welcome to the messy zone.

Mura are a difficult club to get a handle on. Since their title win, they’ve dropped down the table in each successive season going 1st, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and, on each occasion, leaving the strong indication of underperformance. 25/26 is the first season in a while where there is absolutely zero expectation for them to challenge for Europe given the stability of the top five clubs and that they were a ridiculous 20pts behind Bravo last season - something a side of their reputation and expectations should not be. With each successive manager last season having a worse record than the last, it’s hard to find any reason to be especially excited about their chances this term and, ultimately, if you keep on dropping places season on season, you eventually drop a division. They were the worst side of the spring so you have to consider them as part of the relegation battle.

As for the summer so far, they hired a new sporting director in May, let him get into July and then terminated the contract (mutually, it should be said) because his transfer ideas were too much for Mura’s budget and he didn’t feel he could put together a top flight squad on what he was being asked too because the club need either a) investment or b) a big sale and neither look forthcoming.

For my own simplicity’s sake, these factors together make it easier to write their section because, on their squad basis as well, you’d expect them to struggle. Sadriu, Vrbanec, Tripi and Kurez are all losses they’ll feel and, in terms of bets that haven’t panned out, Ziga Laci’s retirement at 22 is horrible for him personally but somehow reflective of Mura’s last couple of seasons as a whole - a bunch of gambles that all kind of made a sense and all went wrong because of instability, poor form or just plain old rotten luck.

Some of those gambles were also just quite dumb. The spring added to the evidence from his time at Slaven Belupo that Robert Muric is done. Amadej Marosa is a club icon but has never had the sort of goal scoring record you’d want of a first name on the teamsheet striker and, if they didn’t have Dario Vizinger, this side simply wouldn’t have goals. Tomislav Glavan is the only real attacking reinforcement so far but with only one goal and two assists in his 20 appearances at Opatija isn’t the sort of form that suggests he’ll contribute all that much at this level.

Marosa, Klemen Pucko and Kai Cipot are the only holdovers from their title winners of 2021 and their policy of acquirements in between then and now was firstly to try to bring in strength, see it go wrong, then try and pack the academy and see it also go badly and now they have a squad that is distinctly poorer than the likes of Bravo and Primorje. While Rapha Hofer is a very interesting get from RB Salzburg, he’s bounced around between not quite being good enough for the Austrian Bundesliga and OK for the Austrian second tier - that suggests he should be good at this level. Faad Sana was on loan at Mura for the… bad part of last season playing all up the right side and earning more yellow cards than games without defeat in his appearances. They are very short of numbers in the centre with Borna Proleta used as much at right back as in the centre leaving Kai Cipot as the only recognised full time centre back in the squad.

The midfield is really the one saving grace of this side - Mlinar, Kurtovic and Antolin are fine at this level but, unfortunately, won’t all fit in the same midfield unless Mura have the numbers at the back to play three at the back and go all-in on wingbacks - albeit there’s no indication Kurtusic likes to play that way. Vizinger is prolific enough by himself to keep this side up and, if he was to leave or get injured, I’d have little hesitation in putting Mura in the bottom two - and I’m doing it even assuming Vizinger stays available to them. There’s an immense amount of work on to get Mura anywhere near where they should be.

Key Player - Dario Vizinger. While Vizinger has tried higher levels and not quite made the grade, with his time at Warta Poznan terrible, at this level, he is absolutely deadly. At Celje, he showed he can get 20 goals in a good side but he managed 14 last term even in a poor side. Given the rest of the squad, he has to hit the teens in terms of goals scored for Mura to stay safe.

Prediction - 9th

Radomlje

Last season - 8th

Transfers Out - Gaber Dobrovoljc and Uros Korun (End of contract)

Transfers In - Stanisav Krapukhin (Free, Kety Emmy Bistrica), Amadej Marinic (Free, Nafta), Enej Klampfner (Free, Ilirija)

Head Coach - The fabulously named Jugoslav Trenchovski takes over as manager for his first go at Slovenia - save for a short spell in Bangladesh, his experience as a manager is all from his time at Akademia Pandev with assistant spells all over the place - Bangladesh, Kuwait and Morocco all in the last 12 months. However, 4-2-3-1 switching to 4-3-3 in attack is the lingua franca wherever he’s been.

Analysis - Last season was, in a way, a comfortable season for Radomlje. While 8th, they were never in any real danger of relegation because of Domzale and Nafta being so poor and got through what threatened to be a transitional season reasonably well. In amidst all that, however, were some absolute hammerings and some truly dire performances - their 9-1 loss to Celje was fortunate not to be double figures and the side were visibly broken by it. Which Radomlje turn up this season?

Well, it probably goes without saying they could do with a bit more in defence - Korun and Dobrovoljc were both experienced heads at the back and, with an entire back line under 25, you’d probably want to see them bring in an older head to provide a bit of leadership and organisation in that area. Amadej Marinic, however, is a pretty decent left back at this level and a sensible pick-up from Nafta.

Ahead of that, however, Radomlje are pretty good. Part of last season’s transition was to bring through young talents and that was mission accomplished - anyone at the club will tell you Matej Malensek is a fine player and Stjepan Davidovic has hit that level also. Nino Kukovec can contribute more and bringing in Krapukhin to support that is a good move given he was banging them in for fun in the second tier.

The result is a Radomlje side that will just be a bit better than last season as a matter of normal growth but that are about two centre backs short right now - one experienced one and getting a decent loan in would do it. They open hosting Aluminij, travelling to Olimpija then hosting Domzale and we’ll likely know everything we need to know about them by the end of that third game. I would feel more confident about Radomlje as a small club sticking to their plan with small needs than I would about Mura as a bigger one who don’t seem to have that plan.

Key Player - Matej Malensek. He can grow to be one of the best wingers in the league and has taken small steps forward. If he can take the giant leap some have expected him to be capable of, Radomlje can look forward to something more than just mere safety.

Prediction - 7th

Domzale

Last season - 9th, won relegation playoff vs Triglav to remain in the Prva Liga

Transfers Out - Danijel Sturm (Free, Celje), Bruno Jenjic (Free, Posusje), Lovro Grajfoner (Free, Panevezys), Tom Alen Tolic (End of contract), Ajdin Mulalic, Tomi Gobec and Rene Prodanovic (Mutual termination)

Transfers In - None

Head Coach - Tonci Zlogar remained at the club and while, yes, let’s throw a bit of credit his was for getting the club out of the automatic relegation spot at the death, it’s fair to note that Domzale came a hell of a lot closer to getting relegated than anyone expected in 24/25, needing to overcome a two goal deficit in that playoff vs Triglav. But he was let go at the end of June and replaced with rookie Croat Goran Rosanda, who has been given the title of “First Team Director” because Head Coach is so 24/25. Rosanda’s mainly known for being in the backroom of Sinisa Orescanin in a few roles which, given Domzale’s takeover, makes sense.

Analysis - Domzale have been very recently taken over by Croatian investors, headed up by former Hajduk board member Slaven Marasovic, who has been doing external consulting since his time at Poljud. This was confirmed on 28 June and, by default, I have to state that starting your summer business basically a month after every other club is not a good way to kick off a transfer window or, really, any run into a new season. That takeover is good news for Domzale in general, who were running on fumes and whose previous head, Matej Orazem, wasn’t the most popular, but it’d have been better news a couple of weeks earlier. That does mean, at least, that their FIFA registration ban has been lifted but their first thing done on that news was to release a player. It’s not as if the floodgates are open for a squad to come in.

For balance on what’s about to come - if any club could change drastically before the end of the window, it’s Domzale. They need to.

Domzale don’t have a recognised goalkeeper at this level - Rok Vodisek is the senior one remaining and got on the pitch five times last season, not looking great on those cameos. While their left back situation is pretty solid with Nino Milic and Mark Strajnar, that’s the only position that does in the back line with the centre a particular concern given Rene Lampreht is a player that needs a certain bit of man management.

Those problems grow as you go further up the park - Marcel Lorber shows promise but wasn’t consistent last season with the same applicable to Edvin Krupic and it goes without saying that not having a single midfielder on the books over 22 isn’t an ideal situation, particularly if you’re going to be under pressure a lot.

And the attack is a problem as well. Dario Kolobaric isn’t back any time soon which means the entire goalscoring weight lands on the shoulders of Luka Mlakar. Mlakar is home-grown at Domzale though spent some time in Roma’s youth ranks before returning and, having watched him since U12 level, I’m confident he will develop into a good player. But, having returned in the winter, he scored only three goals while playing most minutes which is fine for a teenager but that’s not what’s on his shoulders this season.

At the other end of his career, Haris Vuckic has plenty of experience at higher levels than this but, though only 32, did little last season with only two goals in 18 appearances which simply isn’t enough for a player of his reputation and previous talent.

So what good can we say? Not a great deal - that they’re in the division this season arguably owes more to Triglav choking than it necessarily does to much Domzale did. Barring a late run, they wouldn’t have even been in the playoff. They’re now without Danijel Sturm who, with 12 goals and 6 assists - those 18 goal contributions are hard to replace when that counted for over half of Domzale’s goals last season and scoring the difference making goals in games that earned Domzale 8 points by themselves - they stayed up by 1.

Add to that their prep for 25/26 being delayed due to all the stuff going on in the background meaning they just haven’t been able to get to work on incoming transfers. That’s a recipe for disaster.

Key Player - Luka Mlakar. Without Sturm and with Kolobaric crocked, the goalscoring weight has to land on Luka Mlakar. If he hits the potential that convinced Roma to invest in him at 16, then Domzale are unlikely to miss Sturm. For Domzale’s sake, he has to.

Prediction - 10th

Aluminij

Last season - Promoted from Druga Liga as Champions

Transfers Out - Gal Gorenak, Mario Subaric, Tibor Banic, Marko Prenkpalaj, Zan Baskera, Klemen Rahle (All end of contract) Bamba Susso and Aljaz Krefl (End of loans)

Transfers In - Ivija Svrznjak, Domen Zajsek (Free, both Kety Emmy Bistrica), Amir Feratovic (Free, Tabor Sezana), Adriano Bloudek (Free, Gorica)

Head Coach - Jura Arsic gets his first go at managing in the top tier having claimed the second tier title last term with a team swiftly becoming a yo-yo club. Barring a draw vs Gorica, they closed out the title in good style, winning by only a point but earning that with a series of impressive wins in the run-in. His style is heavily reliant on the work from their wing-backs.

Analysis - The last four seasons for Aluminij go relegated, promoted, relegated, promoted so, presumably, relegated again this time?

That’s probably unfair. As noted with Arsic, Aluminij are reliant on their wing-backs so the key move is still having Vid Koderman at the club - their best player of last season and someone who will just go up and down the left all day. Aluminij will keep the pressure on their opponents and be difficult to beat - they had the best defensive record in the second tier last term.

What holds them back, however, is a distinct lack of goals and a lack of a senior keeper (both on the books are still teenagers). Bamba Susso scored 15 last term and while they’ll hope Antonio Bloudek can fill that gap, he didn’t score at that rate in the same league as Susso last term so why would he step to and be above that level this term? Svrznjak, a scrabble player’s dream, does bring threat with a goal contribution every other game in the second tier next term and Zajsek is a good pick up at Centre-back. They need a keeper, they could do with a striker and I’d like to see a good RWB brought in, but with good momentum on coming up, they’re ahead in readiness on at least Domzale and not far away from Mura.

Key Player - Ivija Svrznjak. Aluminij have goals to replace and Svrznjak taking the step up to the top tier for the first time is one Aluminij need to see him take with ease. 10-12 goal contributions this season - matching his contributions last term in the second tier - will be a vital difference maker.

Prediction - 8th