Thursday's UEFA Conference League qualifying predictions: Draw expected in the Netherlands
- There are 40 Conference League second-round qualifying ties on Thursday
- Recommended bets:
- Back Go Ahead Eagles to draw with Brann
- Back Over 2.5 Hajduk Split goals
Qualifying for the 2024-25 Conference League continues on Thursday with 40 first-leg clashes from the second-round stage.
The matches kick off between 4pm and 8.15pm and we have picked out our two favourite selections for this slate of games.
Go Ahead Eagles vs Brann (Thursday, 5.30pm)
The stats
Six of Go Ahead Eagles’ last seven home European ties have finished all square.
Brann have drawn three of their last four matches in Norway’s Eliteserien.
Brann drew home and away Conference League qualifying ties with Dutch outfit AZ last summer.
Prediction
Go Ahead Eagles won a place in the Conference League qualifiers in the Eredivisie play-offs and Thursday’s clash with Brann in Deventer will be their first venture into Europe since 2015.
They have had a tumultuous summer with head coach Rene Hake departing for an assistant’s role at Manchester United and star midfielder Willum Willumsson being snapped up by Birmingham City.
A 2-1 friendly win over Racing Genk in their last warm-up match should bolster their confidence, but they will find a direct and physical Brann side to be a very different opponent.
The Norwegians gave AZ, who finished five places higher and 19 points better off than the Eagles last season, some major issues in the Conference League qualifiers last August.
Brann went out on penalties after two draws and, given the number of stalemates on their recent record and in Go Ahead’s European history at De Adelaarshorst, a tight first leg could finish all square too.
Hajduk Split vs HB Torshavn (Thursday, 8pm)
The stats
Hajduk Split won both of their two previous European matches against clubs from the Faroe Islands with an aggregate score of 11-0.
HB Torshavn have conceded at least three goals in 20 of their 33 previous European away ties.
Prediction
Hadjuk Split will not lack for experience this season after signing Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic already this summer with the promise of more — perhaps Fenerbahce’s Edin Dzeko — to come.
The Croatian giants probably have one of the biggest budgets of all the clubs to enter at this stage and will surely wipe the floor with part-timers HB Torshavn over two legs.
The Faroe Islanders were knocked out at the first-round stage last year by Derry City and exited at the hands of Cymru Premier outfit Newtown in 2022.
The last time that they faced a club with any European pedigree was Maccabi Haifa the year before and they lost the away leg in Israel 7-2.
Therefore, it looks like a tough ask for them to keep Gennaro Gattuso’s side in check on Thursday, with the home side well capable of scoring three or more goals.
