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Qarabag and Shelbourne return to action in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers when they lock horns in the second leg of their second-round clash on Wednesday. Having suffered a 3-0 home defeat in the first leg, Joseph O'Brien’s men will journey to the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium in search of a miracle as they look to stun the hosts and make a remarkable comeback.
Qarabag kicked off the new campaign in style as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Shelbourne in the first leg of their Champions League first qualifying round clash at Tolka Park last Wednesday.
Coming off the back of a decent pre-season campaign, where they won two of their four warm-up games, Leandro Andrade, Oleksiy Kashchuk and Nariman Akhundzade all hit the target to fire the Azerbaijan outfit to a resounding victory.
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Qarabag secured a Champions League qualifying berth after a solid 2024-25 campaign, where they clinched the league title with 89 points from 36 games, 15 points clear of runners-up Zira.
Having ended their lengthy absence from Champions League fixtures, Shelbourne find themselves on the cusp of an early exit from the qualifiers following last week’s underwhelming display at Tolka Park.
Prior to the first-leg defeat, O'Brien’s men were on a six-game unbeaten run across all competitions, picking up three draws and three wins, a run which saw them edge out Linfield FC 2-1 on aggregate in the Champions League first qualifying round.
Shelbourne, who are currently fifth in the Irish Premier Division table, secured their place in the UCL qualifiers after clinching the league title last season, ending their 18-year drought.
Qarabag vs Shelbourne Head-To-Head and Key Numbers
- This will be the second-ever encounter between Qarabag and Shelbourne, with the Azerbaijan outfit claiming a 3-0 victory when the two sides first met in last week’s reverse leg.
- Qarabag have lost just one of their most recent 11 competitive home games while picking up nine wins and one draw since the first week of April.
- Shelbourne are unbeaten in their last six away matches across all competitions, claiming three wins and three draws since June 23.
- Qarabag are on a run of nine back-to-back competitive home games without defeat, picking up eight wins and one draw since January’s 2-1 loss against Turan Tovuz.
Qarabag vs Shelbourne Prediction
With a three-goal advantage already in the bag, Qarabag will return home for the second leg with sky-high confidence as they continue their quest to be in Europe's elite club competiton.
We expect the hosts to show their upper hand once again and come away with another comfortable victory.
Prediction: Qarabag 3-1 Shelbourne
Qarabag vs Shelbourne Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Qarabag to win
Tip 2: Over 10.5 corners - Yes (There have been 11 or more corner kicks in four of Qarabag’s last five matches)
Tip 3: First to score - Qarabag (The hosts have also opened the scoring in five of their last six matches)
