Thursday’s Europa League qualifying predictions: Sheriff can find a response in Azerbaijan
- There are six Europa League first round qualifying second-leg ties on Thursday
Recommended bets:
- Sheriff Tiraspol to win
- Corvinul Hunedoara to win
Qualifying for the 2024-25 Europa League continues on Thursday with six second-leg ties, with regulars of European competition Sheriff Tiraspol and Maribor both in action.
The games kick off between 3.30pm and 7.15pm and we have two selections covering these fixtures ahead of the qualifying action.
Zira vs Sheriff Tiraspol (Thursday, 5pm)
The stats
Sheriff reached the Europa League group stages last season, while Zira have never reached the main draw of a European competition.
Zira have lost two of their three previous European qualifying two-legged ties.
Prediction
Sheriff head to Azerbaijan on Thursday with some work to do after a shock 1-0 loss to Zira in the home first leg in Moldova.
Zira do have home advantage here, but that is perhaps lessened to an extent as the game will be played at the Dalga Arena rather than their usual Zira Olympic Stadium, so a response should be expected from the visitors.
Sheriff dominated the first meeting but were unable to make a breakthrough and Zira pulled off a smash-and-grab win, scoring the game’s only goal with their only attempt on target after 88 minutes.
The hosts will probably sit back and try and hold on to their lead here, but Tiraspol have enough quality to make a breakthrough even if they drew a blank in the first meeting.
Corvinul Hunedoara vs Paksi SE (Thursday, 7pm)
The stats
Corvinul Hunedoara won the first leg 4-0.
Paksi SE have failed to win any of their last six competitive away games in normal time.
Hunedoara have won 11 of their last 14 competitive home games, with four draws.
Prediction
Romanian outfit Corvinul Hunedoara have one foot in the next round after a stunning 4-0 at Paksi SE in the first leg.
The visitors will of course be looking to force their way back into the tie and the temptation for the home side could be to keep it tight early on, but Hunedoara will undoubtedly get some chances on the counter-attack, so they offer value as underdogs.
Hunedoara have an impressive home record and they are unbeaten at the Stadionul Municipal in 14 competitive games, winning 11 of those.
Paksi failed to win any of their final six away games last season in Hungary, losing three and, if Hunedorara are able to keep it tight in the opening exchanges, they could finish this tie off with a win after their dominance in the first meeting.
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