Twente (Ned) vs Salzburg (Aut) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2024-08-12 17:00.
[p]Twente scored what could prove a vital goal in second-half stoppage time in the first leg of this third-round UEFA Champions League qualifier with Salzburg last week, halving the deficit in a 2-1 loss in Austria. That was Twente’s first competitive contest of the season, perhaps hinting they were a little undercooked, but Joseph Oosting’s men did bounce back at the weekend by winning 2-1 in their league opener away at NEC. [/p]
[p]With just a goal in the tie as it stands, Twente should be confident they can turn things around as they ended the previous campaign by winning six consecutive matches on home soil at Grolsch Veste.It hasn’t been quite so plain-sailing in this competition, as they’ve won just one of their last seven Champions League home matches (D5, L1), while this will be their first home game under the banner of Europe’s premier competition since August 2011. [/p]
[p]And the Dutch side are facing a Salzburg team in rampant early-season form. They followed up last week’s win with a dominant 5-1 league victory over Blau-Weiß Linz, meaning they’ve won all four of their competitive games in 2024/25, scoring 16 goals in the process. Another showing like that here would see Salzburg take another step towards reaching the main draw of the Champions League for a sixth successive season. [/p]
[p]There’s still work to be done though, and there’s no doubt new boss Pep Lijnders will be all too aware of his side’s recent poor record on the road in this competition. Salzburg have won just one of their past ten away matches in the UCL (D4, L5), though that sole success did come in last season’s group stage against Benfica.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: New summer signing Sam Lammers – who netted 11 times at Utrecht last season – got off the mark with Twente in his side’s 2-1 win at the weekend. Salzburg midfielder Oscar Gloukh will be full of confidence after remarkably netting the first hat-trick of his career inside just 65 minutes on Saturday. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: Including the tail end of last season, Salzburg have scored before half-time in six consecutive competitive matches. [/p]
[p][i]Written by David H[/i][/p]