Hacken vs Qarabag prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-04 19:00.
Häcken’s debut in the group stages of a UEFA competition could hardly have been worse, as their second-ever trip to Germany finished with the same result as the first. They were mercilessly thrashed 4-0 at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen in Group H of the Europa League (UEL), five years after Leipzig did the same to them in the second qualifying round of the 2018/19 edition.
It was the largest defeat of all 16 games to take place in the opening round of the UEL group stage and it appeared to dent their confidence, for they immediately lost further ground in a tense late-season tussle to defend their Allsvenskan crown. It’s therefore probably a good time to return home to the Bravida Arena where they remain unbeaten in six competitive matches (W5, D1), scoring 2+ goals on every occasion.
Meanwhile, Qarabağ’s ninth attempt to advance beyond the group stage of a Champions League or Europa League campaign got off to the right start with a 1-0 win at home to Norwegian club Molde. That perhaps wasn’t a great surprise given they went through the entirety of the 2022/23 season without losing a single UEFA game at home (W4, D4), nor have they done so this term when you include qualifiers (W3, D2).
Their fortunes are likely to be determined by how they travel, and this is where the current Azerbaijan champions often come unstuck. QarabaÄź have lost 16 of their 23 away trips in the group stages of the UCL or UEL (W5, D2) excluding a COVID-forced walkover awarded to Villarreal in 2020/21. Having not conceded a single first-half goal in their current four-game winning streak across all competitions, they should at least be tough to get past early on.
Players to watch: Look out for the celebrations from Häcken’s Edward “Chilli” Chilufya if he repeats his weekend double, the first of which was toasted with an acrobatic vault. Qarabağ’s sole goalscorer against Molde, Leandro Andrade, followed his effort up with a first-half header at the weekend to make it 4-0 in a 5-0 domestic success over Sumqayit.
Hot streak: Häcken’s last 32 competitive victories were by scores other than 1-0, with an average of 3.3 goals scored per win in that period.