Welsh side Connah’s Quay welcome Kosovans Ballkani to Llanelian Road on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Conference League first-round qualifying tie.
Connah’s Quay have earned their place in the first qualifying round of the Conference League courtesy of their second-placed finish in the Welsh Premier League last season – albeit finishing a distant 22 points behind perennial winners The New Saints.
The Nomads will be familiar to many in Scotland after they famously knocked out Kilmarnock in the first round of the Europa League qualification stage in the 2019/20 season, and they will hope to spring another surprise against their Kosovan counterparts.
Mislav Karoglan’s visitors arrive in Wales after finishing in third position in the Kosovo Superleague last season, finishing seven points behind champions Drita.
The Xhebrailat will be wary of this tie, given they have been eliminated by Irish/Northern Irish sides in the past two seasons in Conference League qualification, losing to both Shamrock Rovers and Larne, respectively.
The winner of this tie will either face St Joseph’s of Gibraltar or Irish side Bohemians in the next round.
How the bookies view it: Ballkani favourites
Ballkani are favourites to take a first-leg lead back home to Kosovo on Wednesday night, with bet365 pricing an away success at just 1/3.
Connah’s Quay are 6/1 underdogs to claim a first-leg lead, whilst the draw is also unfancied at 4/1.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Wednesday’s clash at Llanelian Road will be the first-ever meeting between these two sides.
Players to watch: Serebe to Strike again?
Connah’s Quay’s talisman is Harry Franklin, with the striker scoring 13 goals and providing 11 assists across his 27 appearances in the Welsh top flight last term.
Meanwhile, Ballkani’s top goalscorer from last season was Valentin Serebe, with the Ivorian forward scoring 15 times in the Kosovan top flight.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Connah’s Quay: Renshaw, Simatupang-Ferguson, Hughes, Jones, Flynn, Deane, Sharif, West, Stone, Stephenson, Franklin
Ballkani: Golubovic, Dosso, Halili, Batarelo, Vokrri, Kuc, Giovanni, Diene, Tolaj, Serebe, Hamidi
Anything else catch the eye?
Given that both of these sides are yet to take part in any competitive action this season, it’s hard to know fully what to expect from both here.
However, Connah’s Quay have failed to progress in each of their past seven European ties and will likely struggle against a Ballkani side that has a decent European pedigree.
Ballkani are just 1/3 to claim a first-leg advantage, but adding in Over 2.5 Goals boosts the price to 21/20.
Both Teams to Score paid out in an impressive 14/16 (88%) of Connah’s Quay home matches in the Welsh top flight last season, and a repeat pays 11/10 at bet365.
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