Shamrock Rovers vs Vikingur Reykjavik Prediction: Rovers to sneak through

Shamrock Rovers welcome Vikingur Reykjavik to Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday (20:00, LOITV) for the second leg of their Champions League first qualifying round. Rovers dug deep with a strong defensive display last week in the first leg, but it was they who had the best chances of the match and they will sense an opportunity to progress on home soil.

Below you will find my Shamrock Rovers vs Vikingur Reykjavik prediction, accompanied by match odds and team news.

Shamrock Rovers vs Vikingur Reykjavik Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Shamrock Rovers vs Vikingur Reykjavik page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Shamrock Rovers are 7/4 to win this match in 90 minutes, giving them an implied probability of 36.4%. Vikingur Reykjavik are valued at 6/4, which gives them a theoretical chance of 40%. The draw can be backed at 2/1 (33.3%).

Both teams to score is marketed at 8/11 and over 2.5 goals is on offer at 1/1.

Football Odds

Team News

The hosts had to cope with 10 men for the final 10 minutes of the match in Iceland last week as Darragh Nugent was shown a straight red card. The midfielder is subsequently unable to feature in this leg, forcing boss Stephen Bradley into at least one change.

Rovers are also missing Rory Gaffney and Aaron McEneff due to injury, while Graham Burke is also doubtful to feature after missing his team’s last three matches.

Vikingur have one concern heading to Dublin and that is Helgi Gudjonsson. After going off with a knock in the reverse fixture, it is thought that he could be dropped to the bench this time around.

Shamrock Rovers and under 1.5 goals @ 15/2

I must admit, I am shocked at this market being at such a generous price. After creating the better chances of the first leg while not having the majority, Shamrock Rovers are in an excellent position as they head into the home leg. It has me thinking that they can snatch this tie and progress to the next round.

Bradley and his men will know the aspects that they need to improve for this meeting but they will fancy themselves to pose more of a threat in the final third as the home side, spurred on by the crowd.

I am backing them to register more than the three shots they could conjure in Iceland and I think they will show more composure in the final third and deliver a moment of quality to settle the tie.

After last week’s showing I do think it will be a low-scoring game, in which I expect one goal to settle it and I am confident in backing Shamrock Rovers as the beneficiaries of such a result.

Half-time result – Draw @ 11/10

With that in mind, I do think we could be in for a dramatic winner, one which is delivered later on in the game. I am expecting much of the game to be similar to last week’s encounter in that both teams will lack the cutting edge in attack.

Vikingur had the bulk of the chances last time out but they were not as good as the few ones Rovers were able to come up with. I think the visiting side will suffer as a result of not being on home soil here, too, which could see the hosts dictate the tempo of the game.

I believe that large parts of this game will involve a chess match, with both teams cancelling each other out. So I am confident in backing the two teams to go into the half-time break level.

Offers

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