Tuesday 22/07/2014, 21:00, Champions League Qualifiers, Debreceni vs Cliftonville

Debreceni vs Cliftonville Preview

The Hungarian side failed to win the first leg played away from home, mostly due to the fact that they greatly underestimated Cliftonville. The hosts were nothing to shout for, but their defensive strategy paid off and now they are trying to replicate that performance while scoring a goal on the road. Suffering an untimely elimination at the hands of Cliftonville would spill disaster for Debreceni, which should prompt the Hungarians to radically change their strategy.

Debreceni vs Cliftonville Odds

At Bet365

Debreceni 1.25, Draw 5.50, Cliftonville 7.50

Debreceni vs Cliftonville Tips

In the first leg, Debreceni used two strikers, including Sidibe who is 33-year-old and as a result the team looked sluggish and created few scoring opportunities. The veteran striker from Senegal can be dangerous up front, but only if he receives more support from midfielders and has two colleagues by his side. That's why, tonight the hosts are expected to use both Tisza and Seydi in a 4-3-3 starting formation.

Seydi and Sidibe are both from Senegal and have developed a synergy, which should prove useful in the first minutes of the game, when the hosts hope to take the lead. The right strategy against Cliftonville is to exercise constant pressure for 90 min., because the visitors don't have the expertise and resources to withstand a prolonged siege.

Since they were more than satisfied with the results recorded at the end of the first leg, the visitors don't need to change anything in their starting formation. Gormley will once again be the sole striker for Cliftonville and only if the visitors concede an early goal, he will be joined up front by Garrett.

The IFP Premiership is on break and Cliftonville had to get busy with friendly games, but the results were inconclusive. A narrow margin defeat to The New Saints highlighted their inability to score goals, even against mediocre opponents. On the other hand, past performance suggests that when the team really needs goals, and is willing to use more strikers, scoring is not that big of a deal.

Key Facts

• Cliftonville will defend for as long as the score remains even and will take few chances even if the hosts lead by one goal.
• Debreceni can't risk conceding a goal in the final minutes of the game and suffer an untimely elimination from the Champions League qualifiers, so they will be aiming for a convincing victory.

Debreceni vs Cliftonville Prediction

The odds for the hosts to win are ridiculously low and even betting on them to cover the -.5 goals spread holds no value whatsoever. The best bet for this qualifier is on more than 2.5 goals to be scored, at decently high odds of 1.75 with Bet365.

Bet: Over 2.5 goals @ 1.75 with Bet365