Vikingur Reykjavik and Shamrock Rovers get underway in the Champions League qualifiers when they lock horns at the Vikingsvollur Stadium in the first qualifying round on Tuesday.
The hosts head into the midweek clash fresh off the back of reaching the Icelandic Men's Football Cup final and will be looking to pick up a vital first-leg victory.
Match preview
![Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley on October 27, 2022 [Imago]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/26/stephen-bradley.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley on October 27, 2022 [Imago]")
© Imago
Vikingur Reykjavik took one step closer to a fourth consecutive Icelandic Men's Football Cup crown on Wednesday when they secured a penalty-shootout victory over Stjarnan Gardabaer after a 1-1 draw in normal time.
After falling behind to Danijel Dejan Djuric's first-half strike, Gudmundur Kristjansson netted a dramatic 91st-minute equaliser to draw Stjarnan level and to force extra time, but with nothing to separate the sides after 30 minutes, the game went to penalties, where the hosts secured a 5-4 victory.
This was in keeping with their impressive run of results in the Besta deildin, where they are on a nine-game unbeaten run, picking up six wins and three draws since May's 3-1 loss against Kopavogur — their only defeat in the league this season.
Having clinched the 2023 league title, the Vikingar are on course to retain the crown as they currently lead the way at the top of the table with 33 points from their 14 games, five points above second-placed Valur Reykjavik.
Arnar Gunnlaugsson's men went unbeaten in 21 of their 22 matches last season, picking up 19 wins and two draws, to clinch their seventh Besta deildin title and book their spot in the Champions League qualifiers.
Vikingur are yet to feature in any UEFA competition, coming closest in the 2022-23 campaign, when they stormed to the third qualifying round before losing 4-1 on aggregate to Polish outfit Lech Poznan.
Shamrock Rovers, on the other hand, returned to winning ways in midweek as they held their lead to see out a 1-0 victory over Dundalk FC in the Irish Premier League.
After moving ahead at the Tallaght Stadium courtesy of a 29th-minute effort from Johnny Kenny, the hosts turned in a solid defensive effort to protect their lead and hand Dundalk their 12th league loss of the season.
Prior to that, Shamrock Rovers were on a run of two back-to-back league defeats, losing 2-1 against St. Patrick's Athletic on June 13, two weeks before suffering a 2-0 loss against Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds Stadium.
Stephen Bradley's men have picked up nine wins and seven draws in their 23 Premier League matches this season to collect 34 points and sit fourth in the table, 13 points adrift of league leaders Shelbourne.
Shamrock Rovers have lost seven games this term, three more than their total tally for last season, when they stormed to the league title, claiming 72 points from 36 games, to secure their spot in the Champions League qualifiers.
Having failed to secure European football last season, the aim for the Hoops remains to return to Europe for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign, when they featured in the Europa Conference League, albeit crashing out in the group stages.
Shamrock Rovers secured a 3-2 aggregate victory over Partizan back in 2011 to become the first Irish side to qualify for the UEFA Europa League, but are yet to make an appearance in the Champions League.
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Team News
With his opener in last Wednesday's victory over Stjarnan, Djuric now has seven goal involvements in his last three games and the 21-year-old forward will be one to keep an eye on.
Djuric, who boasts six goals and three assists in 11 league appearances, should form the attacking quarter with Ari Sigurpalsson, Helgi Gudjonsson and striker Valdimar Por Ingimundarson.
Celtic loanee Kenny has scored each of Shamrock Rovers' two league goals this season and we expect the 21-year-old to spearhead the attack once again.
He should be joined in the front two by strike partner Jack Byrne, while we expect an unchanged back three of Joshua Honohan, Roberto Lopes and Sean Hoare, following their clean sheet against Dundalk at the weekend.
On the injury front, Bradley will be unable to name several players down the spine of the team as Neil Farrugia, Lee Grace and Sean Kavanagh continue their spells on the sidelines.
Veteran midfielder Rory Gaffney has missed each of the last 11 matches since sustaining a severe injury back in injury and is also out of contention for Shamrock.
Vikingur Reykjavik possible starting lineup:
Arinbjornsson; Vatnhamar, Ekroth, Sigurdsson, Gunnarsson; Andrason, Thordarson; Sigurpalsson, Djuric, Gudjonsson; Ingimundarson
Shamrock Rovers possible starting lineup:
Poehls; Honohan, Lopes, Hoare; Clarke, Watts, McEneff, Nugent, O'Neil; Byrne, Kenny
We say: Vikingur Reykjavik 2-1 Shamrock Rovers
Fresh off the back of a thrilling cup victory, Vikingur will head into Tuesday's clash with confidence as they look to kick off their qualifying campaign on a high.
While Shamrock Rovers will be looking to pick up where they left off against Dundalk, they have struggled for results on the road, where they have lost three of their last four games. We predict a cagey affair at the Vikingsvollur Stadium, with the home side coming away with a narrow victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
