Goals Expected From The European Visitors Today : Accumulator Tip For August 05

The first leg of the third Round of the UEFA Champions League Qualifiers goes underway as Malmö lock horns against FC Copenhagen and Shkendija, giants from the Macedonian football scene hope to squarely contend for three points against Qarabag. 

In the UEFA Europa - the fifth round precisely, the Hamrun Spartans will push their wits against their Israeli opponents from Maccabi Tel Aviv. 

Malmö FF vs FC Copenhagen

Malmö FF will play against the Lions of Copenhagen ahead of the first leg of the third round brawl at the Arena Lublin, Poland. There have been three previous meetings between these sides, which has produced one win for both sides and one stalemate between them. 

Malmo took a 6-2 aggregate victory against Iberia [3-1; 1-3] before proceeding to nail RFS in a subsequent 5-0 aggregate display that ensured a third round proceeding. 

The Danish opposition, Copenhagen had slimmer luck against their respective challengers Drita which played out as a 2-0 first leg winning; but a tougher experience away from home with a narrow 1-0 victory which came as a red-carded opportunity cost for the hosts, who failed woefully at closing the gap.

The two sides are good goal scorers, and as such, it is easy to see that this will either produce the Over 2.5 goal option, or the BTTS-Yes.

Malmo has shone brightly in the first two rounds and although Copenhagen plays a tighter game, I have a strong feeling that Copenhagen, who will take the lead in the first half, will most likely lose to a second half equaliser from the hosts. A BTTS seems like a fair choice as both sides will struggle to gain early dominance ahead of the second leg.

• Bet: BTTS - Yes

Shkendija vs Qarabag

Shkendija will play against Qarabag for the first time at the Skopje Arena, North Macedonia ahead of the prestigious UEFA Champion League competition which has seen them stay resilient in the first round. In a goalless encounter, Shkendija shared spoils in the beginning round, away from home against TNS, whose second round duel fell within their grasp in a hard-fought 2-1 victory.

Qarabag has had quite the experience, beating Shelbourne in two rounds (3-0,1-0) to a 4-0 aggregate win, guaranteeing their stay in the competition. 

Although Shkendija has kept up pretty performances in the most recent games, Qarabag are still heavily favoured for victory. The only definitive variant here is home advantage for the hosts. 

Qarabag has more European experience, and so are my preferred favorites for the win. 

• Bet: W2

Hamrun Spartans vs Maccabi Tel Aviv

The Ta’Qali National Stadium will welcome Maccabi Tel Aviv, guests from the Israeli Premier League in anticipation of a great Round 5 of the UEFA Europa League. The Maltese hosts will be thrilled to embark on this contest as they have not had such a meeting previously, making it count as a first between the sides. 

The Spartans have not really had a good run in their last three games, which majorly produced losses. The double identical 6-0 aggregate [3-0;3-0] loss to Dynamo Kyiv right after their rebound 2-2 aggregate equaliser that saw them eventually win against Zalgiris only proved how inexperienced they were in the European scene.

My initial prediction was a possible win for the guests, counting greatly on the inexperience of the hosts to see them commit goal-creating mistakes. However, I'm also inclined to depend on Qarabag’s no-nonsense attitude in their penalty box. A BTTS-NO is my ideal wager for this contest.

• Bet: BTTS-NO