Cliftonville vs Haugesund Predictions

Cliftonville have their work cut out for them as they face a tricky qualifying tie against Eliteserin outfit Haugesund but the visitors haven’t had the best of seasons so far, lingering in mid-table with fourteen games played. Thursday’s hosts are yet to start their domestic campaign but do have three pre-season friendlies under their belt as well as the two legs in the last qualifying round against Barry Town.

Last week Cliftonville followed up their goalless draw in Wales with the 4-0 demolition of Barry Town at Venue Solitude in Belfast. Goals from McMenamin and Gormley saw the hosts leading 2-0 at the interval and two strikes inside the final eight minutes from McDermott and Donnelly saw Cliftonville secure safe passage through to the next qualifying round.

Haugesund made the trip to Viking last time out where the visitors managed to hold on for a draw despite seeing less of the ball and creating fewer chances to score than the home side. The game ended goalless and Viking were left ruing their missed opportunities as the hosts saw thirteen of their fifteen shots fail to land on target.

The overall quality of both sides and the level of opposition they face week in week out, along with their performances over the last six weeks, suggests that both teams are in with a good chance of scoring on Thursday and that Haugesund are best placed to win the 1st leg. Cliftonville have scored in four of their last six matches in all competitions and both teams have scored in four of Haugesund’s last six matches. Three of Cliftonville’s and three of Haugesund’s last five matches have produced over 2.5 goals, which is why we’re backing a 3-1 win for the visitors on Thursday. Haugesund have higher quality players in their side and play against the likes of Molde, Rosenborg, Odd, and Brann on a regular basis which should give them an advantage over Cliftonville.

Wadji top scores in the league for Haugesund this season with four goals but is closely followed by teammate Stølås on three goals, while Joe Gormley top-scored in the NIFL Premiership last season with an impressive twenty goals while teammate Ryan Curran netted thirteen times and Rory Donnelly chipped in with twelve. We’re confident that both teams will score in Thursday’s match and have predicted a 3-1 win for Haugesund. The visitors are the better side in terms of quality and should have enough about them to secure a lead heading into next weeks deciding leg in Norway.