Olimpija Ljubljana vs Crusaders Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

This game comes from the ‘champions path’ in the UEFA Europa League and features two sides to have already been knocked out of the Champions League. Northern Irish champions Crusaders should be slightly more competitive here but it’s still going to be a really tough ask and a place in the next round is likely to be beyond them.

They were hammered 9-0 on aggregate by Ludogorets in their Champions League qualifier so will most likely have a bit of wounded pride to heal here. They lost the away leg of that tie 7-0, their third straight away defeat to nil in European competition following 2-0 and 6-0 losses in recent seasons.

The omens then aren’t exactly great here as they take on an Olimpija side that was far more competitive in their Champions League qualifier. A bad-tempered tie with Qarabag produced 3 red cards over the two legs but only one goal, scored by the side from Azerbaijan. Therefore the Slovenian champions will be disappointed to be dropping into this competition but they do at least stand a better chance of progressing into the group stage and that will be their target now.

They shouldn’t really have too much trouble negotiating this tie. They are operating on a higher level than Crusaders and although they lost their opening league game as well as the Champions League tie, there is a gulf in class that should be evident in the Slovenian capital on Thursday. Olimpija have only lost 2 of their 24 competitive matches this calendar year and there should be no danger of them adding to that tally here.

It will be a little strange for Crusaders to be back in European competition just 7 days after the most emphatic of European exits. Including friendlies, they’ve lost 4 of their 5 matches since returning to pre-season training and they weren’t particularly convincing at the back-end of last season either, winning only 2 of their final 5 league games as they won the 2017–18 NIFL Premiership by 2 points.

They’ve played 20 European ties now in their history and only won 2. Those two victories did at least come this decade but their performances over the past fortnight just don’t inspire any sort of confidence heading into this game, particularly the away leg. They’ve only avoided defeat in 2 of their previous 20 European away fixtures and it’s likely to be backs to the wall stuff here.

Overall backing Olimpija to Win to Nil looks pretty appealing.