Champions League Tuesday predictions: TNS face tough task
- Tuesday's Champions League qualifying features eight second-leg ties
- Recommended bets:
- Under 2.5 goals in TNS vs BK Hacken
- Breidablik to beat Shamrock Rovers
Eight of the 15 Champions League first-round qualifiers conclude on Tuesday with second-leg action from far flung places such as Tiraspol in Moldova and Kopavogur, just south of Reykjavik.
League of Wales champions TNS, who play across the English border in Oswestry, will attempt to overturn a two-goal deficit from last week's 3-1 defeat at BK Hacken while Shamrock Rovers have it all to do in Iceland after they went down 1-0 to Breidablik in Dublin.
TNS vs BK Hacken (Tuesday, 7pm)
The stats
BK Hacken are on a seven-game unbeaten run that includes last Tuesday's home win at Bravida Arena.
They are the unseeded team here because The New Saints have the greater UEFA coefficient but the Swedish champions outclassed their Welsh counterparts for at least 30 minutes of the game in Gothenburg — racking up 14 goal attempts to TNS's three and 10 corners without reply.
However, Craig Harrison's side are undefeated in their last six home European ties, with five wins and a draw during that run, and kept clean sheets when Linfield and Viking Reykjavik visited Park Hall in Champions League qualifying last summer.
Prediction
Although Per-Mathias Hogmo's side were a cut above for most of the first half of the opening leg, TNS stemmed the tide after the break and will have earned the Swedes' respect ahead of this return clash.
Harrison's men dealt well with all but one of Hacken's set pieces and caught them out in the move for their goal when one of the home side's centre-backs was woefully out of position.
Expect Hacken to be more circumspect this time with a two-goal advantage to preserve and that could beget a tight affair in line with the majority of TNS' recent home European games, which have featured fewer than three goals.
Breidablik vs Shamrock Rovers (Tuesday, 8.15pm)
The stats
Breidablik were deserved 1-0 winners at Tallaght Stadium last week as Shamrock Rovers failed to score for a sixth European match in a row.
Stephan Bradley's side, who have won only one of their last five games in all competitions, looked short on confidence and ideas against the Icelandic champions.
Breidablik, making their first appearance in Champions League qualifying since 2011, will now look to win a fourth straight European game for the first time in their history after previously seeing off Tre Penne and Buducnost Podgorica in the preliminary round.
Prediction
Rovers rarely threatened Breidablik's defence in the first leg as the visitors' high defensive line and intense pressing game forced the Dubliners into playing more long-ball football than usual.
A weekend free from domestic action gave Bradley's players a welcome mid-season rest and a chance to rethink their approach for the return against a team that are clearly better than anyone outside of Kopavogur anticipated.
A tally of 22 goals in their last six games suggests Breidablik are not short of firepower but one strike may be enough for the hosts to secure a second-leg victory given the Hoops have failed to register in three straight games.
