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Steffen Schmidt - July 26, 2023
Shkupi vs Levski Sofia
UEFA Conference League Qualification
Date: 27 July 2023, Thursday
Kick-off at 20:00 UK / 21:00 CET
Venue: Tose Proeski Arena (Skopje).
Shkupi host Levski Sofia in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round on Thursday evening at Tose Proeski Arena in Skopje.
The hosts eased past Lithuanian side Hegelmann in the opening round courtesy of a 0-5 victory in the first leg away on Lithuanian soil.
Turkish manager Cihat Arslan can be thrilled with the performances his men have shown in these two legs against Hegelmann, keeping their net untouched on both occasions.
We have to praise Jamaican striker Renaldo Cephas in particular as he starred with four of his team’s five goals in the first match in Lithuania.
The Macedonian outfit generally own a strong attacking line with several internationals including Cephas, Dudu, and Queven.
We should also mention that Shkupi featured the Conference League playoffs last year where they got eliminated by Kosovo’s Ballkani 1-3 on aggregate.
Levski Sofia have a much broader experience in continental competitions but they are still nowhere near the team they used to be back in the late 2000s.
The Bulgarian outfit were eliminated from Europe in the third qualifying round of Conference League last year at the hands of Maltese side Hamrun Spartans after beating the likes of PAOK in the second round.
Levski also have a squad packed with non-Europeans, including Ronaldo, Ricardinho, and Jawad El Jemili as the main stars.
El Jemili was the one who notched a brace in a 1-3 victory over Botev Plovdiv in the second round of the new season in Bulgarian elite class on Saturday.
Both teams posses certain quality and it is hard to give either side advantage ahead of the upcoming double-header. This is why we will go for the hosts because of the value. You can back Shkupi not to lose the first leg in front of their fans at the 1.57 odds.
We expect a tight affair without too many chances for either outfit which makes the Under 2.5 goals FT a great betting option at the odds of 1.65.
