HIBS welcome Swiss side Luzern to Easter Road for the Europa Conference League third qualifying round first leg with the carrot of a game against Aston Villa in the next round waiting for the winners.
The Easter Road side have endured a rocky start to the season. They were humiliated in the first leg in Andorra by minnows Inter Club d'Escaldes before blowing them away in Leith in the return leg.
But manager Lee Johnson remains a man under pressure and, after clawing back two-goal deficit at home to St Mirren on Sunday, they managed to throw away the points at the death.
It's remarkable with Hibs that season after season, no matter how many players they sign, they somehow seem to start with old stagers Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson! And it's the same old defensive problems for them too.
Mind you, Luzern boss Mario Frick is also feeling the heat, After he made four changes while a goal up at the weekend crunch clash with rivals St Gallen, they conceded two late goals to lose the game.
The 125-times capped former Liechtenstein international was then involved in an angry bust-up with the opposition bench and slaughtered his subs.
So neither side should be full of confidence for this one.
How the bookies view it
The Swiss side are favourites here despite home advantage for the Scots and can be backed at 8/5 with Boylesports. Hibs can be backed at 37/20 with 10Bet and the draw is 5/2 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
The clubs have never met.
Players to watch
Hibs' talisman Martin Boyle took less than ten minutes against the Andorrans to mark his comeback with a goal and he's clearly their main threat in front of target. The Australian international is 3/1 to score anytime with Paddy Power.
Kemal Ademi is likely to lead the line for Luzern and netted in the last round when they won in Sweden against Djurgardens. He is 5/2 to score anytime with William Hill.
Anything else catch the eye?
Hibs should be an entertaining watch this season. They are all over the place defensively. have major goalkeeping issues through injuries and loss of form, but can also click at the other end when Boyle and Elie Youan hit form.
Both teams to score has happened in all of Hibs' five games this season and four out of five of Luzern's. It looks nailed on here and if the Swiss side can go to Sweden and win, you suspect they could do so here too.
Therefore William Hill's 4/1 on both teams to score and Luzern win screams out at you.
Most first legs are cagey affairs, but Hibs don't do that and are usually wide open at the back while entertainingly attacking going forward. There should be goals here and the over 3.5 goals at 49/20 with 10bet looks to have a real chance.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between Hibernian and Luzern will be played on Aug 10, 2023 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Hibernian vs Luzern prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
