Qarabag (Aze) Shkendija (Mkd) prediction 2025-08-12

Qarabag (Aze) vs Shkendija (Mkd) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-08-11 16:00.
[p]Qarabağ earned a 1-0 win in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) third qualifying round tie against Shkëndija to move a step closer to reaching the main draw of the competition for just the second time in their history. [/p]

[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]

[p]Qarabağ have not yet begun their Azerbaijani title defence, but they’ve made a formidable start to the season in Europe. They’re yet to concede across three successive UCL victories, while they’ve been beaten in just one of their last eight games across all competitions. They’ve successfully navigated the UCL’s third qualifying round in two of the previous three seasons, but as neither of those campaigns saw them reach the main draw, Gurban Gurbanov’s side still have demons to banish ahead of the second leg.[/p]

[p]Unlike their hosts, ShkĆ«ndija were in domestic action in between these ties, bouncing back from that defeat with a rousing 5-1 win to set them up perfectly for this clash. That’s the same number of goals that they’ve netted in their five UCL qualifiers so far (W3, D1, L1), and with none of those games decided by a margin greater than a single goal, this could be another tight affair as ShkĆ«ndija look to reach the play-off round of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time in their history.[/p]

[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]

[p]Last week’s meeting was the first between these two sides. Qarabağ extended their unbeaten run against sides from North Macedonia to six matches (W5, D1), while ShkĆ«ndija’s loss was their first against Azerbaijani opponents in four such meetings (W2, D1).Ā [/p]

[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]

[p]Qarabağ have scored before half-time in six of their last seven games. [/p]

[p]Qarabağ have kept seven clean sheets across their last eight matches.[/p]

[p]ShkĆ«ndija’s last seven matches have featured four red cards.Ā [/p]

[p]ShkĆ«ndija’s last 12 completed games have seen them keep just two clean sheets.Ā [/p]

[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]

[p]Toral Bayramov got QarabaÄŸā€™s winner in the first leg, extending his winning record when scoring for the club to 19 matches. Besart Ibraimi came off the bench to score twice in league action on Friday, so will be pushing for a start as he looks to net in back-to-back games for the first time since April.Ā [/p]

[p]There do not appear to be any recent injury absentees on either side.[/p]

[p]Betting Analysis[/p]

[p]ShkĆ«ndija’s last eight competitive games have all seen more than 3.5 cards awarded, so that seems like a sensible bet to place.Ā [/p]

[p][i]Author: Alex Bowmer[/i][/p]