FC Nordsjaelland vs Esbjerg Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Nordsjaelland come into this campaign following an impressive 2017/18 campaign in which they secured 3rd place. The bookies make them strong favourites to kick off the new season in some style as they host newly promoted Esbjerg on the opening day and anything less than three points would be a blow to them.

Despite finishing 3rd, Nordsjaelland were over 20 points back on the top two and they are only 28/1 shots to win the Danish Superliga this season. They are viewed as the best of the rest after the big three of defending champions Midtjylland, Brondby and Copenhagen. They will be bidding to secure European football again and they do come into this match immediately after making their Europa League bow against Cliftonville on Thursday.

A 1-0 win in Belfast sets them up nicely to progress in that tie and they ought to win this one too. Esbjerg finished as runners up in the Danish second tier last term to secure promotion to the top flight. They are expected to struggle this season and are 6/4 to go down, so any form of result would be a positive here.

They are the kind of team that is likely to be fairly attack-minded though, even with the odds stacked against them. They were the top scorers in their league last term, netting 14 more goals than champions Vejle. Their matches averaged 2.93 goals per game so their fans got plenty of entertainment but you have to worry about their defence at a higher level.

Nordsjaelland matches also tend to be very high scoring. A huge 78% of their league games last season saw both teams score and that figure was the same at home as it was away. Clean sheets were by no means their speciality as they conceded in 83% of their games, despite finishing 3rd but an impressive average of 2.11 goals per game is testament to their firepower.

All things considered, goals look likely again here and backing Both Teams to Score could be the smart punt.

Going for Nordsjaelland & Over 2.5 Goals also looks good. They are far the superior side and 83% of their games last term did produce over 2.5 goals. With home advantage against newly promoted opponents they should get off to a winning start.