Sheriff Tiraspol vs IF Elfsborg Prediction & Betting Tips - Europa League

Prediction published on 25/07/2024, 03:28  by Daniel Ngulu in Europa League Predictions

At the Bolshaya Sportivnaya Arena this Thursday, Sheriff will welcome Elfsborg in the first leg of their Europe League qualifying round. Sheriff will be hoping for smoother sailing after scraping through the first round on penalties while Elfsborg were comfortable winners. Here’s our preview of the match, which comes with a prediction.

Regulars in the Champions League in the past, Sheriff will hope to leverage on their experience in this tie. Their know-how in the European football terrain wasn’t visible in the last round as they were almost embarrassed by Zira.

They lost at home before recovering away to force the tie into penalties. Against Azerbaijani side Zira, Sheriff conceded first in both legs. The Moldovan giants come here without a clean sheet in eight matches, and won just three of those games.

While Sheriff labored in the first round, Elfsborg easily dispatched Pafos, winning both legs. With an 8-2 aggregate victory, the Swedish side will feel capable of taking a first leg advantage from this game.

This confidence will not sound farfetched as Elfsborg have won each of their last five matches. Though they didn’t keep clean sheets in the last three matches, scoring at least thrice in five straight games calls for some respect.

The Swedish side has only failed to score once in the last 10 matches. Perhaps the only area of improvement will be their defence, having managed just three clean sheets in those 10 games. While Elfsborg haven't been in the Europa League since 2015, there’s a remarkable run to their name in the competition. They have five wins and one loss in eight Europa League matches and will want to keep it going.