Wednesday's Champions League qualifying predictions: No way back for Larne
- Wednesday's Champions League first round qualifying fare includes six second-leg ties
- Recommended bets:
- Back RFS to win
- Back Differdange to win with a -1 handicap
Qualifying for the 2024-25 Champions League continues on Wednesday with seven second-leg ties, with Northern Ireland's Larne and Slovakian champions Slovan Bratislava among the teams involved.
The games kick off between 4pm and 8pm and we have two selections covering these fixtures ahead of the qualifying action.
Larne vs FK RFS (Wednesday, 8pm)
The stats
RFS reached the group stages of the Europa Conference League in 2022-23.
Larne lost 7-1 on aggregate to Kosovo's Ballkani in the second round of ECL qualifying last season.
Riga won the first leg 3-0 and have won their last five away games.
Prediction
Larne have it all to do in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier with Latvia's RK RFS and it is probably a step too far for the Northern Irish Champions.
RSF were thoroughly dominant in the first meeting, creating 14 attempts to Larne's four, nine of which hit the target.
Larne were beaten in extra time by Finland's HJK in Champions League qualifying last season and were then thrashed by Kosovo's Balkani in Conference League qualifying, losing 7-1 on aggregate.
The first leg suggests Riga are a level above their hosts and the Latvian champions have an impressive away record domestically. They have won each of their last five trips and should have plenty of opportunities to hit Larne on the counter as the home side bid to fight their way back into the tie, so take Riga to finish their first round assignment off with a win.
Differdange v Klaksvik (Wednesday, 6pm)
The stats
Differdange are unbeaten in 19 competitive home games.
Klaksvik have lost their last five European away games.
Differdange had 26 attempts to Klaskvik's six in the first leg.
Prediction
Faroe Islanders Klaksvik made waves in Europe last season by stunning Ferencváros and Molde in Champions League qualifying.
Ultimately, they ended up in the Conference League group stages and they appear well placed to make another splash this year after beating Luxembourg's Differdange 2-0 in the first leg of this tie.
However, that result doesn't really reflect the game as Differdange were the dominant side for large periods. They managed 26 attempts to Klaksvik's six in that fixture but some heroic defending and goalkeeping ensured they failed to make a breakthrough.
With home advantage, Differdange can launch a fightback here. The BGL League champions have a formidable record at their Stade Municipal base and they are unbeaten in 19 here, winning 10 of their last 12.
All of their last 10 home wins have been by two or more goals and they can cover a -1 handicap against Klaksvik (game starts 0-1) as they bid to keep their European dream alive.
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