Salzburg – Rijeka

Red Bull Salzburg and Rijeka will square off in the first leg of the Champions league third qualifying round, Champions route.

Salzburg has played 4 official matches so far this season and won them all with an amazing 15-0 goal difference, but it has to be said that 3 of the 4 opponents were amateurs – including Hibernians, which Salzburg beat 6-0 aggregate in the previous Champions League qualifying round. The hosts are on the back of a 2-0 road win against Wolfsberger in the first round of the Austrian league and will hope that the matches played so far have been good preparation ahead of this much tougher test against Rijeka.

The visitors have been on the rise for some years now, and they finally managed to win the league in Croatia last season, breaking Dinamo Zagreb’s incredible run of 11 titles in a row. Rijeka actually did the double, also beating Dinamo in the Cup final. Just like Salzburg, Rijeka played 4 competitive matches so far this season, winning all of them with a 13-2 combined goal difference – including a 7-1 aggregate win against TNS from Wales in the previous UCL qualifying round.

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Team news: Salzburg might end up missing one of its best players, as Berisha is waiting a decision over a potential suspension – with the answer expected to come just hours before the game.

While they are still the top team in Austria and a side worth respecting, Salzburg is definitely not the same team it was a few years ago. Due to Red Bull buying Leipzig, Salzburg has become a sort of feeder club and is losing its best players each season. This summer they sold two of their best guys, Laimer and Wanderson, without bringing in anything of note.

Rijeka lost Andrijasevic to Gent and also ended the loan of Bezjak, but there were no other noteworthy losses over the Summer, and they managed to bring in a number of solid players to improve the team – most notably Heber (Slaven Belupo) and Elez (Lazio).

Salzburg also met Croatian opposition last season in the Champions league qualifiers and they were knocked out by Dinamo Zagreb, 1-1 away and 1-2 at home. Some may argue Rijeka is at least as good as Dinamo Zagreb, while Salzburg definitely looks weaker than last year.

The visitors are a solid side in good form and don`t deserve to be such massive underdogs in this clash. The two teams seem to be evenly matched and an in form Rijeka surely has a fair shot to snatch a result here.

My tip on this clash is Rijeka to cover the +1 asian handicap, and odds are currently dropping on the visitors. Prediction: Red Bull Salzburg – Rijeka 1-1.

Pick: Rijeka (+1 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.72 @ 1xBet
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 5.04
Event date: 26 July