Shamrock Rovers vs Molde prediction: EUROPE: Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2025-02-19 20:00.
[p]Shamrock Rovers became the first-ever Irish side to win a European knockout game after negotiating a group/league phase when they beat Molde 1-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League play-off – an even more impressive achievement given that they were huge underdogs pre kick-off. Now, with the backing of a raucous crowd at Tallaght Stadium, Stephen Bradley’s men have the opportunity to make even more history and progress to the last 16.[/p]
[p]With an eye perhaps on the second leg, the Hoops suffered defeat in the opening game of their domestic league season against Bohemians at the weekend. They’ve not suffered back-to-back defeats since September, and will be confident of avoiding such a fate here as they avoided defeat on home soil in the league phase of this competition (W2, D1), and have won six of their last eight on their own turf across all competitions (W6, D1).[/p]
[p]Still in their domestic off-season, last week’s first leg was Molde’s first competitive outing under new head coach Per-Mathias Høgmo, and his dugout debut turned sour quickly as his side were reduced to ten men before half-time. History suggests his second match at the helm should be more enjoyable, as the Norwegian side had won all six of their matches against Irish opponents before last week’s slip-up.[/p]
[p]If they are to progress to the last 16, Molde will need to improve on their recent away form, which has seen them fail to win their last four matches on the road (D2, L2). They’ve worryingly failed to score in four of their last six games across all venues, with those four encounters featuring just three combined goals in regulation time.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Sixteen-year-old sensation Michael Noonan became the second-youngest goalscorer in UEFA competition history when he got the winner in the first leg. Hoping to upstage him, Markus André Kaasa has form at important moments for Molde, scoring in the final game of the league phase, as well as netting in the Conference League’s knockout play-off stage last season.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: None of Molde’s last eight matches have been decided by more than a one-goal margin. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]