Motherwell will look to seal their place in the third qualifying round of the Conference League on Thursday night as they travel to the Faroe Islands to take on HB Torshavn in the second leg of their second-round tie.
Alfred Johansson made a winning start to his reign as Motherwell boss last week, as he saw his new side come out 2-0 winners against HB at a packed Fir Park.
Martin Moorman gave the Steelmen the lead after just a quarter of an hour, before Lukas Fadinger doubled the lead just before the hour mark to put them in control of the tie.
The winners of this tie will face either record Finnish champions HJK or Northern Irish outfit Coleraine in the next round.
Whilst Motherwell begin their Premiership campaign this weekend, Lukasz Cieslewicz’s hosts are already 16 games into their league season, but currently sit fifth in the Faroese Premier League, 10 points behind leaders NSI.
How the bookies view it: Motherwell favourites
Given they hold a two-goal advantage from the first leg, Motherwell are clear favourites to advance to the next round, with bet365 pricing them at 1/66 To Qualify, however, the win inside 90 minutes is priced at 1/2.
HB are massive 20/1 underdogs to advance to the third qualifying round, whilst a win inside regulation time is 4/1.
Head to head: Three from three for the Steelmen
These two clubs have previously met on three occasions, with Motherwell winning all three.
Prior to their 2-0 victory in the first leg last week, the Steelmen had knocked out HB Torshavn 7-1 on aggregate in the preliminary stages of the 1994 edition of the now-defunct UEFA Cup.
Players to watch: Top-scorer Tawanda back
Motherwell’s top-scorer from last season, Tawanda Maswanhise, missed the first leg due to sustaining a jaw injury in pre-season, but has travelled with the squad.
Whilst the Zimbabwean is unlikely to start, he may make an appearance from the bench, but it’s unlikely bookmakers will release goal-scoring markets for this clash.
Predicted line-ups:
HB will have both Moses Ebiye and Amidou Diop available after missing the first leg due to visa issues.
Motherwell will still be without the injured Paul McGinn and Stephen O’Donnell, but Tawanda Maswanhise does travel with the squad.
HB Torshavn: Mork, Mohr, Johannesen, Steiring, Dam, Mneney, Hansen, Voss, Soylu, Sorensen, Pettersen,
Motherwell: Paulsen, Sparrow, Girdwood-Reich, Moormann, Wilson, Vogt, Priestman, Fadinger, Said, Charles-Cook, Booth
Anything else catch the eye?
Motherwell have put themselves in a strong position thanks to that 2-0 success in the first leg last week, but things are rarely straightforward for Scottish sides in Europe, particularly away from home.
HB are unbeaten in each of their last eight continental clashes in front of their supporters (W3-D5-L0), and the 13/10 on offer at bet365 in the Double Chance market looks good value.
The hosts have no option to go for it – and given both teams are known to be involved in high-scoring clashes – the 17/20 at bet365 for Over 2.5 Goals also appeals.
GambleAware