Molde vs Hibernian Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

A 0-0 draw in the match in Edinburgh means that Hibs will have the advantage of away goals if they score in this game but Molde will be hoping to use their home advantage to swing this one.

Hibs were by far the better team in the first leg as they managed six shots on target compared to the Norwegians’ solitary strike on goal. Molde goalkeeper Andreas Linde had a fantastic match and will be hoping to continue his form in the return fixture as he tries to keep out Hibs’ powerful attack of Martin Boyle, Florian Kamberi and Jamie Maclaren who has only just returned to the club on loan.

At the weekend, Hibs could only get a draw away to St. Johnstone and this will disappoint manager Neil Lennon as it was another game that they dominated as per the Molde fixture with six shots on target and only allowing the opponent to get one strike which was their goal. However, Hibs are still unbeaten in their last seven with 20 goals in the process and this has Lennon confident of getting a positive result in Norway: “obviously Molde will be the favourites but we know we can score, we were very unlucky not to take some sort of advantage over there.”

Hibs did lose their dynamic central midfielder John McGinn to Aston Villa at the end of the English transfer window, but they managed to bring in the ex-Rangers player Emerson Hyndman from Bournemouth on loan. He raised eyebrows during his period at Ibrox and will be hoping to recreate that form after failing to make many appearances in the Cherries’ first team. They are also waiting for Thomas Agyepong to gain a work permit. The Ghanaian winger has signed on loan from Manchester City but is still waiting for a visa so he can play for the Hibees, Lennon is hoping this will be sorted sooner rather than later but there is no confirmation of when this will be finalised.

Unlike Hibs, Molde had a fantastic result at the weekend beating top of the table Brann by five goals to one. It was only Brann’s second defeat of the season and could absolutely send shockwaves through the league of their title intentions. This will also give them real confidence going into this Europa League second leg at home. Everything clicked for Molde and they managed to beat the leaders by some way despite a few key players being rested for the European clash like Magnus Eikrem and Petter Strand.

Molde have the best goal difference in the Eliteserien and will be desperate to score since getting 30 goals in their last 10 games and being unbeaten in their last five home matches. If Hibs get one, they’ll need to score two but Molde’s defence have been pretty solid recently with five clean sheets in their last ten matches including a steely performance in the first leg.

It is going to be a game of deadly attack against watertight defence. With Hibs at full strength, we back them to get at least one goal in Molde; they were causing problems for 90 minutes and if they continue to do that for another 90 in Norway, it can only go one way. Molde have had some good performances recently but a 2-1 loss to the Northern Irish part-timers Glenavon earlier in the season really showed their fragility at times and we expect Hibs to exploit that.