Rosenborg vs Valur Rejkjavik Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

The second placed sides in Norway and Iceland meet in the Champions League this week, with the tie in the balance. The opening clash saw Valur claim a 1-0 victory, their first ever win in this competition. Will we see a big turnaround in this clash on Wednesday night, or will Rosenborg be heading out of Europe’s top competition in the first qualifying round? They have to pull off a big result to keep themselves in this competition, and deny the Iceland side a historic European night.

Both of these sides have big domestic concerns on their mind, with the hosts now two points off the top in the Eliteserien. Meanwhile, Valur trail Stjarnan on goal difference in the Urvalsdeild. That leaves both with plenty of work to do in the coming months, but first they need to focus on a defining game on Wednesday night. The visitors are hoping for better than their first ever Champions League tie, which brought home and away defeats to BATE back in 2008. Now back among the elite, the Iceland champions are hunting for European progress.

Rosenborg are a side with great pedigree in this competition, and in Europe in general. They were strong in last season’s Europa League, and they head in to this clash on the back of some strong form in the Champions League. Their ambitions of getting to the group stage ended with a 1-0 loss at home to Celtic last summer, but they won their three matches before that in order to progress through the early rounds of qualifying in 2016 and 2017, before exiting ahead of the group stage.

The only issue for Rosenborg is their poor defensive record in Europe, having conceded in their last four home Champions League ties. That includes clashes at home to Sweden’s Norrkoping, APOEL of Cyprus and Dundalk. Their run through the Europa League last term saw both teams score in five of their last seven matches, and that’s likely to lead to a high scoring game here. With that poor scoring run, we can see Valur looking to take advantage and claim an away goal.

Valur have been good value for goals in their domestic league, scoring 1.67 per game in the Urvalsdeild. We see them pushing Rosenborg, and that’s going to leave the hosts needing to score two. They’ve hit two in seven of their last nine home Champions League games, so they are capable of doing that. We’re going for both teams to score with that in mind, while we’re backing a 2-1 victory for Rosenborg, which is just enough to secure a historic night for the visitors.