Molde vs APOEL prediction: EUROPE: Conference League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-11-27 17:45.
[p]After their vital 2-1 Eliteserien win at home to Brann, Molde will enter a season-defining week. They hold onto the fourth and final European spot in the Eliteserien by a two-point margin with one round to play, but before they worry about that, they need to keep their hopes of progressing in this edition of the UEFA Conference League alive. [/p]
[p]Molde head into this match as warm favourites but there’s a lot for head coach Erling Moe and his side to be worried about. Not only did they fail to qualify for the Europa League by losing 1-0 at home to Sweden’s Elfsborg in the preliminary rounds, but since thrashing Northern Irish side Larne 3-0 on the opening matchday in early October, they’ve dropped points in two of three Eliteserien home games as favourites (W1, D1, L1), hardly the ideal preparation for their inaugural meeting with a Cypriot opposition.[/p]
[p]Like their hosts, APOEL also finished the weekend in fourth place of their domestic league after losing away to unbeaten league leaders Pafos (2-1). They could still be riding the highs of securing their maiden Conference League main draw victory last round, when they hosted and conquered two-time runners-up in this competition, Fiorentina (2-1). [/p]
[p]Without a home crowd to drive them on here, it appears likely that they’ll struggle to head home with all three points. In addition to failing to win four of their last five away trips across all competitions (D3, L1), APOEL are yet to win overseas in any UEFA tournament this season (D2, L2). Don’t expect a fast start from them here either, as none of those four games saw them score before half-time. [/p]
[p]Key battle: Molde forward Ola Brynhildsen has accumulated five goals in his last three Eliteserien games and will be hoping to transfer that form to the Conference League, where he drew a scoring blank on matchday two and three. Konstantinos Laifis may be marking him but will have to do so more carefully after being booked in four of his last five games for club or country.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Only three of APOEL’s last 11 matches across all competitions saw both teams score. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]