It may only be early July, the summer sun yet to show its face across most parts of the UK, but this midweek club football returns to our screens and it’s not a moment too soon. The Europa League qualifying first round takes followers from Tuesday afternoon through to Thursday evening and we have a British interest.
Scottish Premiership sides Rangers, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen all take part with each expected to get off to a winning start. Rangers take on St Josephs who finished third in the 10-team Gibraltar Premier Division last time, while Killie are off to Connah’s Quay Nomads and The Dons face RoPS Rovaniemi.
We’ve seen woeful performances from Scottish top-flight sides on the continent in recent times, but it would be a real shock if all three didn’t bag themselves a slot in round two. Betfair offer betting on each match, allowing punters the chance to ramp up their interest.
St Joseph’s v Rangers
The hosts booked a glamour tie against Rangers thanks to an unexpected win over Prishtina in the previous round. They upset the odds to hold on for a 1-1 draw away from home in the first leg and sent a message of intent when winning 2-0 in the reverse. No one gave them a chance but to be fair to Saints – who finished last season with stats of 17 wins and three draws against seven defeats – they were good value for the result.
In an incident packed match that saw three players sent off, two for Prishtina and one for St Joseph’s, Villar scored the opening goal on 75 minutes to gift his side a cushion and they finished the job, making full use of the numerical advantage with a second from Garcia Pena with 80 on the College Cosmos Stadium clock. Another win would be unthinkable, Betfair traders offering 25/1.
New look Gers out to impress
Steven Gerrard has made sweeping changes to his Rangers side over the summer as he aims to build on last season’s second place finish behind Celtic. There’s a feeling in Glasgow the champions are there for the taking after losing manager Brendan Rodgers to the Premier League. A number of their first team regulars have also departed.
To stand any chance of applying pressure to The Hoops, Dave King and the Rangers board must provide another cash injection and reports suggest three more players could arrive in Govan before the transfer window slams shut. Fans will hope Liverpool’s Ryan Kent is one of them. We should see a few new faces here but the gulf in class between Rangers and St Josephs will be evident in the first leg. Rangers are 1/20 on the Betfair Sportsbook, -3 goals on the handicap a 6/4 play.
Connah’s Quay Nomads v Kilmarnock
The Nomads finished second in the Welsh Premier League last term and know the size of the task that awaits them over two legs against Kilmarnock, an opponent who blazed to a third-place finish in the Scottish Premiership. The locals need more than their fair share of luck but will see this as the best time to play Kilmarnock with both sides off the pace and the visitors taking part in their first match under new manager Angelo Alessio.
It was a summer of change at Rugby Park as former Napoli, Juventus, Italy and Chelsea assistant Alessio was trusted to continue the good work done by Steve Clarke who took over as Scotland boss. The 54-year-old Alessio will be keen to put his own mark on the team, but he has inherited a good squad and there’s enough talent in the pool to get through this tie.
Aberdeen v RoPS Rovaniemi
Aberdeen enjoy home advantage in the first leg but must make it count when welcoming Finnish side RoPS to Pittodrie for a tie that will be played from 7.45pm on Thursday. The Dons added to their squad with the recent arrival of Greg Leigh on loan from NAC Breda and the former England U21 defender is expected to be joined by more new faces. This is no easy start for Aberdeen, and they won’t be at their best, but they are expected to get the win.
RoPS finished runners up in the Veikkausliiga behind runaway leaders HJK and they should be fit, having played out a goalless draw with Kokkola late last month. Neither side involved in this match offer anything solid in terms of recent form and that makes life difficult for punters seeking out an interest.
Source: Betfair Europa League
