SPARTAK TRNAVA v ZRINJSKI
Wednesday 11th July 2018 – Kickoff: 1700hrs
Football – Europe – Champions League Betting Tips
Spartak Trnava will have first bite of the cherry in terms of home advantage in their first qualifying round tie with Zrinjski at their City Arena Trnava on Wednesday night as the reigning Slovakian Super Liga champions look to progress to the next qualifying round.
Trnava claimed the league title by a margin of five points ahead of runners-up Slovan Bratislava thanks to a 2-0 home win over DAC which was just as well as they went on to lose their last two league matches of the campaign with defeats to Zilina and Trencin.
Since winning the domestic title, Trnava have also played five pre-season friendlies which include a win over Slovacko and draws against Brno and Vysocina Jihlava, and although they’ve also suffered back-to-back defeats to Sigma Olomouc and Banik Ostrava, the playing time should be beneficial for the hosts ahead of this first leg.
Visitors, Zrinjski Mostar, claimed a third consecutive Bosnia-Herzegovina Premier League title at the end of last season where they rounded off a successful campaign with a resounding 4-0 home win over Krupa na Vrbasu, and they too come into this first qualifying round of the Champions League with a few pre-season games under their belts.
A 1-0 win away at Mattersburg was followed by a 2-1 home win over Gorica which will be a timely confidence booster for Zrinjski who have previously found life very difficult in the big step up to Champions League football.
Zrinjski are without a win from their last seven Champions League ties which include defeats to Slovan Bratislava, Legia Warsaw and Maribor (twice). In addition, Zrinjski have lost three of their last four on their travels, so a first leg clash away at Spartak Trnava may well prove to be a tough test for them here.
However, I’ll downgrade my pick to a draw no bet on the hosts in view of their two recent defeats.
Pick: Trnava AH0 @ 1.62 Bet Victor
