Hibernian will look to qualify for the Europa League third qualifying round as they welcome Danish side Midtjylland to Easter Road on Thursday night in what should be an entertaining encounter.
David Gray would’ve been proud of his players last week, as his side earned a credible 1-1 draw in Herning, leaving the tie completely in the balance at Easter Road on Thursday night.
The Hibees were particularly impressive in the first half, as debutant Jamie McGrath scored directly from a free kick after an error from Midtjylland goalkeeper Jonas Lossl, whilst Martin Boyle had a second disallowed after just drifting into an offside position.
In fairness, Midtjylland were better in the second half, and looked particularly threatening from set-pieces, and that’s where their equaliser came from, as Aral Simsir curled in a terrific free-kick in the 72nd minute.
That result meant it was back-to-back draws for Thomas Thomasberg’s visitors, but they did get their first win of the new season on Monday night as they thrashed Sonderjyske 6-2 in the Danish Superliga on an evening where our man Gabriel landed a full-house of winners.
How the bookies view it: Danish delight for Midtjylland?
Despite drawing the first leg at home last week, Midtjylland have been installed as the favourites here, with BoyleSports pricing them up at 20/21.
A home win inside 90 minutes for David Gray’s men is priced at 2/1 with BoyleSports, whilst it’s 13/5 for the match to go to extra time and potentially penalties.
Head to head: Second ever meeting
Perhaps unsurprisingly, last week was the first-ever time these two clubs have met, with Thursday being the first time they have faced each other in Scotland.
Players to watch: Franculino to find the target again?
Franculino has made a fantastic start to the new season in front of goal, as he bagged a brace in Midtjylland’s opening day 3-3 draw at home to OB. The Guinea-Bissau frontman then went one better against Sonderjyske on Monday, firing in a hat-trick, and the 17/10 at both PaddyPower and William Hill for him to score at Easter Road on Thursday night appeals to me.
Martin Boyle remains Hibs’ talisman, as his 15 goals in the Premiership helped guide the capital club to a third-placed finish. The offside flag was the only thing preventing him from opening his account for the new season in Herning last week, and he is priced at 12/5 at PaddyPower to get on the scoresheet in Leith on Thursday night.
Predicted line-ups:
Following on from an impressive showing in Herning last week, David Gray will be expected to name a similar starting lineup at Easter Road on Thursday.
Thomas Thomasberg made five changes to his side in their 6-2 thrashing of Sonderjyske on Monday night, but I expect him to revert to a similar starting 11 to the one that started the first leg with Hibs last week.
Hibernian: Smith, O’Hora, Bushiri, Iredale, Cadden, Levitt, Mulligan, Obita, McGrath, Boyle, Bowie
Midtjylland: Lossl, Mbabu, Lee, Bech, Bak, Osorio, Sorensen, Bravo, Simsir, Franculino, Buksa
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams had plenty of opportunities in the first leg in Denmark last week, and it’s no secret that the pair are far better offensively than they are defensively.
Midtjylland’s opening three matches in all competitions this season have seen goals at both ends, with both Superliga matches also going Over 2.5 Goals, and combining both selections pays an appealing 20/21 at BoyleSports.
The Wolves have scored 10 goals across those three contests, and the 5/6 on offer at BoyleSports for them to score 2+ also appeals to me.
GambleAware