CLIFTONVILLE v AEK LARNACA
Thursday 14th July 2016 – Kickoff: 1945hrs
Football – Europe – Europa League Betting Tips
Cliftonville welcome Cypriot outfit to their Solitude ground in Belfast for this first leg second round Europa League qualifier and the hosts are likely to have their backs to the wall over the next two legs as they face a tough task of overhauling AEK into the next round.
Cliftonville had earlier disposed of Luxembourg side Differdange 03 3-1 on aggregate which included a 1-1 draw away from home before winning the second leg 2-0 on home turf to send them through to the second round.
Cliftonville have won just three matches in their 12-match Europa League history which incidentally were all achieved at home against Cibalia, Kalmar and Differdange but they will need to step up their game if they’re to compete with AEK.
Onto AEK then, and they progressed with ease to the second qualifying round of the Europa League with a resounding 6-1 aggregate win over San Marino club Folgore/Falciano winning 3-0 and 3-1 at home and away respectively.
This was nothing short of what was expected of them though as they had made it through to the third qualifying round of this competition last season before falling at the last hurdle to Bordeaux who beat them convincingly over two legs in a 4-0 aggregate win.
Nevertheless, AEK are a dangerous side at this stage of this competition and they possess the pedigree and experience in the Europa League to at least progress to the next round at Cliftonville’s expense.
Pick: AEK Larnaca AH-1 @ 1.69 Bet Victor
