Thursday 17/07/2014, 21:00, Europa League Qualifiers, Aberdeen vs Groningen

Aberdeen vs Groningen Preview

The second round of the Europa League Qualifiers has begun and there are already a couple of prominent teams that go head to head for a place in the groups. Both Aberdeen and Groningen are used to play in the second-tier competition, even though none of them made a deep run in the previous years. For the time being, they need to focus at the task at hand, which is to make a deep run and winning the first leg is particularly important for the hosts.

Aberdeen vs Groningen Odds

At Bet-at-home

Aberdeen 2.45, Draw 3.15, Groningen 2.65

Aberdeen vs Groningen Tips

The Scottish side has no injury concerns, which comes as no surprise given the fact that the Premier League will only resume one month from now. In order to keep his players busy, manager McInnes scheduled a couple of friendly games and results met expectations. After failing to claim all three points against St. Patrick's, the team played considerably better in the next five games and conceded a single goal over that span.
Even though they were not involved in competitive football, at least not on an official level, Aberdeen already played to Europa League Qualifiers.

Daugava Riga was their opponent and the Latvian team failed to pose any problems whatsoever, losing both legs without scoring a single goal.
It will be far more difficult for the Scottish side to defeat Groningen and it is most unlikely for them to score a combined eight goals. On the bright side, they only need to take an early lead and then build on that narrow advantage, as the defenses have been bolstered during the season break.

The Dutch have plenty of experience in European competitions and they also enjoy a lengthy winning streak, with a single draw over the last 13 games. Since the regular season concluded exactly 2 months ago, Groningen played only two friendly games against teams from lower divisions and had to settle for narrow margin victories.

Key Facts

• Aberdeen won five games in a row and scored a combined 20 goals over that span, while allowing just one.
• Groningen managed to keep a clean sheet in each of the last four games, with their objective tonight being to prevent the hosts from scoring

Aberdeen vs Groningen Prediction

Aberdeen will be aiming for all three points tonight, because winning on the road has never be easy for the Scots. On the other hand, the top priority remains to keep a clean sheet and that's why punters should be extra cautious when betting on this match. The best choice is to take the cover of a 0:0 Asian handicap, so that if the game ends undecided, the investment is fully refunded, regardless of score.

Bet: Aberdeen Draw no Bet @ 1.80 with Bet-at-home