Shamrock Rovers and KuPS Kuopio both made the league phase of the UEFA Conference League last season - only one's going to make it this time round.
League of Ireland heavyweights Shamrock Rovers and KuPS' Euro perennials have been paired together with the first leg of their play-off round tie at Tallaght in Dublin.
Both clubs started this summer in the UEFA Champions League, both are top once again of their domestic leagues and both will fancy their chances of making the next stage.
The second leg is in Kuopio, Finland next Thursday.
Shamrock Rovers v KuPS Tips Summary
Best Bet - Shamrock Rovers to win @ Evens
Alternative Bet - Over 5.5 Shamrock Rovers Corners @ 11/10
Bet Builder - Over 9 Corners, Shamrock Over 1 Goal, 1st Half Result - Shamrock Rovers @ 5/1
Shamrock Rovers v KuPS Prediction
Best Bet: Shamrock Rovers to win @ Evens
Shamrock Rovers can shrug off a week to forget and forge a critical advantage over KuPS in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League tie.
A dismal few days started last week in Albania where they were thumped 5-1 by Egnatia to bow out of the Europa League.
Three days later Rovers blew a 2-0 lead to lose to bitter rivals St Pat's in the FAI Cup.
Now they go again but back at home where, just 10 days ago, they beat Egnatia 3-1, and have also beaten Floriana 5-1 and Ararat-Armenia 2-1 in European action.
In fact they have lost just once and won 13 of their 16 home games this season.
So a bad few days on their travels - and Stephen Bradley made changes galore against St Pat's with an eye on this - should not distort the view that Shamrock look the bet.
KuPS, like Shamrock, are leading their league table though they have lost twice on the road in Europe, 1-0 at Sabah and 2-1 at Uni Craiova.
Alternative Bet: Over 5.5 Shamrock Rovers corners @ 11/10
Rovers will feel their best chance of progress will come at home where they have to be positive.
And with three wins out of three at Tallaght in Europe to this point, they are making the most of playing in Dublin.
Their positivity is reflected in their corner count, which is six corners per home game and 6.8 overall across their six European ties.
To that end, take the 11/10 they win more than 5.5 corners against KuPS.
Shamrock Rovers v KuPS Bet Builder Tip
Over 9 Corners
Shamrock Over 1 Goal
1st Half Result - Shamrock Rovers
Pays 5/1
Make over nine corners the first leg of your Tallaght Bet Builder.
Shamrock are averaging 6.8 corners per game in Europe this season and KuPS are averaging five per game.
Shamrock to score over one goal is the next leg.
The League of Ireland leaders have scored in all 16 home games this season and scored over one in 10 of those. KuPS are probably sterner opponents than most visitors to Tallaght but Rovers know the importance of a home-leg edge and will be positive.
Stephen Bradley's men have scored 10 first-half goals in their last five home matches so back them to be ahead at the interval, as well.
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Key Match Stats
Shamrock Rovers started out in the UEFA Champions League beating Floriana of Malta (5-3 on agg) and then losing to Ararat-Armenia (3-2). They moved to the UEFA Europa League where they lost 6-4 on aggregate to Egnatia of Albania
KuPS also started in the UEFA Champions League, beating North Macedonia's Vardar 4-3 on aggregate before losing out to Sabah of Azerbaijan 3-0 on aggregate. The Finns then played Uni Craiova (Romania) in the Europa League third qualifying round, losing 3-2
Shamrock have now won their last four home European ties and lost only three of their last 13 staged in front of their own fans
KuPS' 2-0 win at Vardar in this season's UEFA Champions League was just their second win in their last 15 away ties
Rovers, leading the League of Ireland by seven points, have won 13 of 16 home games in all competitions, losing just once. They last failed to score in a home game 10 months ago
KuPS are top of the Veikkausliiga after 20 rounds of games, five points clear with just one defeat all season
Nicaraguan international striker Jaime Moreno, who was playing in the Copa Libertadores for Venezuelan side Carabobo in the spring, has scored 11 goals for KuPS since April
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
