The long road towards the Europa League proper continues this week and on Thursday there are seven teams from Britain and Ireland involved in the second qualifying round.
The majority can only dream of the reaching the tournament proper, but here is our guide to the home nations’ best chances in the second qualifying round.
Crusaders v Fulham
The Cottagers secured their clash with Crusaders (9/1 to win the game) of Northern Ireland thanks to a 3-0 aggregate win over NSI Runavik of the Faroe Islands.
If you look at the side put out by Martin Jol in the legs against Runavik you get an idea of how seriously Fulham (2/11 to win) are taking this Europa League qualifying. They put out a full-strength side in the first leg, with only a few young faces on the bench, and are likely to do the same against Crusaders – at least in the first match between the two sides in Northern Ireland on Thursday.
Crusaders finished second in the Irish league last season and Northern Irish international defender Colin Coates will be a massive loss for them, as he could have contended with the likes of England striker Bobby Zamora and Andrew Johnson.
Chris Morris is also missing for the part-timers as they look to cause a shock in their first game against top-flight English opposition since 1976.
Fulham should not be overly worried about facing Crusaders in Belfast as, even if things go awry on Thursday, they have won six straight Europa League games at Craven Cottage so would fancy themselves to finish the Irish side off next week (The Draw 5/1).
Crusaders are going to be rusty as this is their first game in the Europa League qualifying but are likely to be up for it against Fulham.
However, nothing other than a win for Jol’s men seems on the cards here.
Slask Wroclaw v Dundee United
Dundee United (14/5 to win) travel to Poland to face Slask Wroclaw, who finished runners-up in the Polish First Division last season. The Tangerines face a tough task in the first leg against a strong Slask Wroclaw (4/5 to win, 12/5 draw) outfit.
Manager Peter Houston has a depleted squad to take with him to Poland as giant centre-half Garry Kenneth is the latest name ruled out through injury. Danny Swanson and Scott Robertson are also unavailable, with the boss admitting the Tangerines are “down to the bare bones”.
Celtic keeper and former Dundee United goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska has warned his former employers to keep their eye on Slask Wroclaw’s dangerman Sebastian Mila.
He is the Polish side’s star player but Zaluska reckons they are not a one-man team and pose a number of threats to the Tangerines. Dundee United are taking just under 500 supporters to Poland and they could need all that support if they are to dream of making it to the play-off stage like they did last season.
Shakhter Karagandy v St Patrick’s Athletic
FC Shakhtyor Karaganda of Kazakhstan came through past Koper of Slovenia in the first qualifying round to face Ireland’s St Patricks Athletic – who overcame IBV. Both teams’ domestic league campaigns are underway and they are riding high in their respective competitions.
St Patrick’s are second in the Airtricity Premier League and have impressed in attack so far this season, while Shakhter Karagandy are a tough side and currently sit third in their Premier Division, with Kazakhstan native Sergei Khizhnichenko firing 11 goals already.
The Irish side are heading into the unknown but should have the ability to score over in Kazakhstan, which would put them in a great position heading into the second leg in Ireland.
And The Rest:
Llanelli face a massive challenge against the Georgian side of Dinamo Tbilisi, especially considering they are without Craig Moses, Martyn Giles, Chris Holloway, Chris Venables and Rhys Griffiths through suspension. (Llanelli 9/2 to win, Tblisi 1/2, draw 11/4).
The New Saints could have a secret weapon up their sleeves against the Danish team FC Midtjylland in the shape of their artificial pitch. Cliftonville, who they overcame in the first round, struggled to cope but Midtjylland, who finished fourth in the Danish Superliga, will pose a much tougher threat (New Saints 18/5, Midtjylland 8/13, draw 5/2).
Glentoran are going to be without some key players for their clash with Vorskla Poltava. They overcame FC Renova of Macedonia in the first round to book the game with the Ukranians but the loss of Colin Nixon, Jonny Taylor, Sean Ward, Richard Clarke and Elliot Morris will hamper their chances of victory (Glentoran 18/5, Poltava 8/13, draw 5/2).
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