Olimpija Ljubljana vs FK Qarabag Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

The Champions League first qualifying round sees Qarabag heading to Slovenia on Wednesday night. They are out to spark another European run, after landing in a tough group with Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and semi-finalists Roma last season. That tough group was at least a great experience for the Azerbaijan side, who took points off the Spanish outfit, to deny them a place in the last 16. They will have learned from their experiences against some of the best sides in Europe, and now they’re out to spark another push for the group stage.

Qarabag’s first opposition on their way to the last 32 of the competition is Slovenians Olimpija. The hosts are celebrating winning their domestic league, and are out to impress in just their second ever Champions League campaign. After struggling in Europe over recent years, they face a tough clash with a team who have become group stage regulars in the last couple of seasons.

Qarabag have made the group stage of the Europa League or Champions League for four straight seasons now, and they’re aiming to follow that up with another strong showing. They have reached the third qualifying round of the Champions League for four straight seasons, and their improvement in Europe has been noticeable over time. After that, they won’t want to take a backwards step this season, and they certainly won’t want to struggle in the first qualifying round on Wednesday night.

Luckily, Olimpija have awful European form behind them. They lost home and away to VPS in the first round of the Europa League qualifiers last season, while they were beaten 4-3 at home to Trencin in their first ever campaign in the Champions League. That should give Qarabag an opportunity, given that they tend to keep things tight in their European clashes, so they should be perfectly placed to edge out a win.

Qarabag have seen under 2.5 goals land in 16 of their last 21 European qualifiers, and they are likely to see another low scoring game here. We expect them to edge out an Olimpija side who have failed to keep a clean sheet in six straight European matches. We think that the visitors are great value for the win after their strong showing last season, and given the gulf in their European experience. After winning their opening two away qualifiers in this competition last year, we’re backing Qarabag to taste victory again.