Ararat Armenia vs Shamrock Rovers Predictions

• Shamrock scored in five of their Conference League main draw games last season
• Ararat-Armenia have won four of their last five competitive home games
• Both teams have scored in five of Shamrock’s last six games

Armenian assignment for Shamrock

Shamrock Rovers had to recover from a first leg deficit to beat Malta’s Floriana in the first round of Champions League qualifying and now face a sterner test against Ararat-Armenia in Yerevan.

Shamrock lost the first leg 2-0 against Floriana, although Matthew Healey’s dismissal early in the second half played a part in that loss. They roared back with a 5-1 win over Floriana in Ireland in the second leg and may need to comeback again in this tie.

Ararat-Armenia are generally strong at home and the hosts do look interesting at an odds-against price, but the best angle for our main bet is backing both teams to score.

Goals at both ends has been a regular feature of Shamrock’s games as both teams have scored in 10 of their last 14 games. They have failed to score themselves in just one of those games, the 2-0 loss in Malta.

Ararat’s season began with their first European qualifier against Riga. They won the first leg of that tie 2-0 at home but then lost the return fixture 3-2 in Latvia. Ararat did concede plenty of chances in the first leg despite keeping a clean sheet and they were playing against 10 men for the final 20 minutes or so of that game, so Shamrock should be able to get on the scoresheet.

Shamrock reached the main draw of the Conference League last season and scored in all three of their away games but they still struggled as they claimed just one point on their travels. With home advantage, Ararat can seize the advantage but Rovers can keep the tie alive by keeping things tight and a 2-1 win for the Armenian side is the correct score pick.