SALZBURG welcome Twente to the Red Bull Arena for a UEFA Champions League third round qualifier. Home form is often vital for Salzburg and having already begun their domestic campaign, they should have too much for their Dutch rivals.
Salzburg often make smooth progress through the Champions League qualification rounds and have become regulars in the group stage. However, last season’s campaign was one to forget as they missed out on the knockout phase after failing to claim a single win.
Pep Lijnders’ team will head into Tuesday’s clash with plenty of confidence having already made a positive start to their domestic campaign. They began with a 6-0 victory over Dornbirn in the Austrian Cup before claiming a 3-0 win at Grazer AK on the opening weekend of the Bundesliga.
Twente are back in the Champions League having made their last appearance in the competition back in 2011. They are also making their first appearance in this season’s competition having drawn a bye in the opening two rounds.
Preseason has not been particularly smooth for Twente, who played out draws all three of their friendly matches. Joseph Oosting’s men head into Tuesday’s clash off the back of a 0-0 scoreline with Schalke 04 in their final warm-up fixture.
How the bookies view it: Salzburg highly fancied
Salzburg have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 8/15 by Betfred to claim the win. A victory for Twente is valued at 9/2 by Betfred, who is also offering odds of 3/1 for a draw.
Head to head: No previous meeting
This will be the first ever meeting between Salzburg and Twente.
Players to watch: Konate to shine
Karim Konate has already hit the ground running for Salzburg this season, scoring three goals in the opening two matches. The striker will play alongside Dorgeles Nene and both men could help the Austrians produce over 1.5 goals at 4/7 with Betfred.
Salzburg looked suspect at the back in the win over Grazer AK and Twente will be looking to take advantage. Ricky van Wolfswinkel was their leading scorer last season and with Younes Taha also featuring in attack, the Dutch side could be backed to produce over 0.5 goals at 1/2 with Betfred.
Probable line-ups
Karim Konate should once again lead the line for Salzburg alongside Dorgeles Nene, who was also on target last Friday. Nicolas Capaldo should feature in midfield while Samson Baidoo is expected to hold the fort in defence.
Ricky van Wolfswinkel is the biggest attacking threat for Twente and is expected to feature in attack on Tuesday. Bas Kuipers is also expected to line up in defence alongside Mees Hilgers.
Red Bull Salzburg: Blaswich, Dedic, Baidoo, Blank, Terzic, Capaldo, Dambou, Kjaegaard, Daghim, Nene, Konate
Twente: Unnerstall, Sampsted, Hilgers, Kuipers, Van Hoorenbeeck, Kjolo, Eiting, Steijn, Taha, Rots, van Wolfswinkel
Anything else catch the eye?
Salzburg produced over 4.5 goals in their previous fixture and a repeat is priced at 13/2 by Betfred, who is also offering 13/8 for over 3.5 goals. Given the quality in their attack, the hosts could also be backed to score in both halves at 13/10 with Betfred.
The Austrians are expected to be dominant and could be backed to win both halves at 11/4 with Betfred. A -1 handicap could also be considered at 6/4 with Betfred.
This UEFA Champions League match between Red Bull Salzburg and Twente will be played on Aug 6, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Red Bull Salzburg vs Twente prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
