Progrès Niederkorn V Cork City
Thursday 18th July 2019 – 18:30 Kick-Off
UEFA Europa League First Round
Pick: Progrès Niderkorn to WIN
Odds: 1/1 (Evens)
Bookmaker: MoPlay
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/1 | 5/2 | 28/11 |
* (Betting Odds were taken from Betway on July 4th, 2019 at 09:18 a.m.)
First Leg: Cork City 0-2 Progrès Niederkorn (Goals: Belmin Muratovic, Mayron De Almeida)
Preview: A professional performance in Ireland has Progrès Niederkorn firmly in control of this tie, with the fourth-best team in Luxembourg protecting a two goal advantage when they welcome Cork City to their Stade Jose Haupert. Do the visitors have any surprises in store or will their struggles continue?
UEFA Europa League betting at MoPlay
Progrès Niederkorn Preview – Luxembourg outfit too strong again?
After easing to victory over in Ireland, this should be a simple matter of completing formalities for Progrès Niederkorn. A couple of away goals in the bag; the advantage of playing at home, where their better form is produced both domestically and in Europe; facing inferior opposition who have been enduring a torrid season. What could possibly go wrong?
In football anything can and does invariably happen, but Progrès Niederkorn would have huge regrets if they somehow contrived to throw this tie away. The hard work was achieved out in Ireland, and back at home – where their record in Europe since 2017 reads W3 D1 L2, and their form in the Luxembourg National Division (W9 D3 L1, GF27 GA11) was a big reason why they secured fourth last season – there really shouldn’t be very many issues.
A couple of those victories in European competitions were earned relatively close to home as well, overcoming a couple of teams from the British Isles. A 2017 Europa League First Round Qualifier against Scottish giants Rangers resulted in a 2-0 success, while earlier in this very competition they edged out Welsh side Cardiff Metropolitan University 1-0 in the preliminary round.
However, this was only the fourth best team in Luxembourg last season. A league not exactly feared on the continent. The country’s fourth best team will be in the next round however, unless something drastically goes wrong here. They’re as short as 1/20 with SkyBet to qualify.
Cork City Preview – Woeful form in Europe to continue?
It seemed a big enough task in Ireland, before the two-legged affair had even begun, but a 2-0 loss on their own patch has left them with the proverbial mountain to climb in Luxembourg. In fairness to them, the tie didn’t completely get away from them – because it seriously could have when, with only 30 minutes on the clock, their opponents were already two goals to the good. Even so, their qualification hopes now look precarious.
That was Cork’s seventh consecutive loss in Europe, and perhaps more worrisome for management will be less those results and more the lack of a goal. To not even score in those fixtures highlights how badly out of their depth The Rebel Army have been at this level. It isn’t easy envisaging their fortunes changing anytime soon either, as this has been a team whose numbers drop-off noticeably when away from their Turners Cross stadium.
In last season’s League of Ireland, Cork won less frequently (recording four fewer wins compared with at home) and lost more often (five compared with two) when out on their travels. These are fairly standard numbers for an away team but taking into account the opponents awaiting them in Luxembourg are perhaps a slight step up again on what they usually face, it doesn’t bode particularly well.
Especially as those were numbers from last season, when they finished second. The current season is 24 games old and Cork already find themselves a million miles off the pace of not only their main rivals but also their exploits of the previous campaign. They’re currently 7th, with a minus goal difference (-10) and a goal scoring average below one-per-game (0.79).
Progrès Niederkorn V Cork City Key Facts:
- Progrès Niederkorn are unbeaten in their previous three home European matches (W2 D1).
- Cork have now lost their last seven matches in Europe, all without scoring a goal.
- 2-0 to the good within 30 minutes, Progrès Niederkoen eased to a 2-0 first leg victory in Ireland.
Betting Summary
The fourth-best team in Luxembourg were too good for League of Ireland’s 2018-19 runners-up last week. The teams renew acquaintances in Luxembourg, where Progrès Niederkorn have beaten sides from Hungary, Scotland and Wales in the past couple of campaigns. That is a huge upgrade on the form Cork bring to the table, which is seven straight losses in European games – all seven without as much as scoring a single goal.
Luxembourg is hardly a league to strike fear into opposing teams. Cork’s woeful form though, not only on the continent but even in Ireland, is hugely off-putting. Odds of EVENS on Progrès Niederkorn recording another victory seem plenty fair enough, with another defeat to nil for Cork – which would be their eighth in a row – seemingly decent value at 11/5 with Bet365.
