Linfield will be looking to claim the first leg advantage when they host Vllaznia in the Europa Conference League first round qualifier. The Northern Irish side are regulars at this stage of European football and should have the extra quality to claim the upper hand on Thursday.
Linfield are regulars in the qualifying stage of European competitions but have never featured in the group phase. They fell at the third qualifying round in last season’s Europa Conference League and will be looking to St least go one better this term.
The Northern Irish team are in the middle of preseason and head into Thursday’s clash with a 1-0 victory over Scottish team Kilmarnock in a friendly. David Healy’s men have claimed three wins in their last five matches across all competitions.
Linfield often do their best work at Windsor Park and have claimed six Einstein in their last 10 home matches. They also try to maintain a solid defence in front of their fans with seven clean sheets in their last 10 fixtures across all competitions.
Vllaznia finished third in the Albanian Superliga last season after going on a run of just three wins in their final 15 matches. They are yet to begin preseason and have not tasted any kind of football action since May.
Like Linfield, Vllaznia are also looking to make their first ever appearance in the group stage of any European competition. They crashed at the second qualifying round of the Conference League last season after suffering a 4-1 aggregate defeat to Romanian Universatitea Craiova.
Among the recent troubles for Vllaznia is that they have struggled on their recent travels, claiming just one win in their last nine away matches across all competitions. Migen Memelli’s men have also lost all three of their Conference League matches on the road, failing to score in the last two fixtures.
How the bookies view it
Linfield have the upper hand among the bookies with a home win priced at 19/20 with Betfred. A victory for Vllaznia is valued at 3/1 by bet365 while William Hill is offering odds of 12/5 for a draw.
Head to head
This will be the first ever meeting between Linfield and Vllaznia.
Players to watch
Ethan Devine often features in attack for Linfield and could be the one to watch on Thursday. The forward usually has support from the likes of Robbie McDaid and Matthew Fitzpatrick and all three men can combine to help the Northern Irish side produce over 0.5 goals at 1/4 by William Hill.
Linfield have also looked solid at the back in front if their fans, weeping seven clean sheets in the last 10 home matches across all competitions. Matthew Clarke is a mainstay at the back and can lead the Northern Irish side to a clean sheet at 11/8 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given Linfield’s solid defensive record at home, BTTS NO can be considered at 9/10 with BetVictor. The Northern Irish side have won to nil in six of their last 10 home matches across all competitions and could be set for a repeat at 12/5 with Paddy Power.
Linfield will be targeting a comfortable first leg advantage and can be backed in the -1 handicap market at 3/1 with Betfred.
This UEFA Europa League Conference match between Linfield and Vllaznia will be played on Jul 13, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Linfield vs Vllaznia prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
