Crusaders vs Olimpija Ljubljana Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

This tie is as good as over heading into this Thursday’s 2nd Leg in Belfast and barring any miracles, Olimpija will be the side to take their place in the 3rd Qualifying Round of this season’s UEFA Europa League. This clash comes from the ‘Champions Path’ meaning the winners of this one will face the losers of the HJK Helsinki-BATE Borisov tie in the Champions League in the next round, in a somewhat confusing format to this season’s European qualifiers.

Olimpija all but booked their place in the next stage by cruising to a 5-1 win in last week’s 1st Leg. Kingsley Boateng and Matic Črnic both bagged braces and even the Crusaders goal was scored by an Olimpija player, with Branko Ilic firing into his own net. The away goal briefly gave the Northern Irish side a glimmer of hope but they soon conceded again to succumb to yet another heavy European defeat.

They’d already exited the Champions League courtesy of a 9-0 aggregate defeat to Ludogorets. Hopes were high that they could be more competitive against the Slovenians, especially with a few players back from other commitments but it didn’t work out that way at all. Their league season starts this coming weekend and they could at least do with a better performance here to restore some confidence at the end of a morale-denting European campaign.

Olimpija meanwhile have started their league season but haven’t really convinced. They’ve taken 1 point from their 2 league games, which isn’t exactly a great start to their title defence but European distractions may have been a factor. They’d not previously lost a single league match in 2018 but have looked solid in Europe this term and gave a decent display in their Champions League qualifier, narrowly losing 1-0 on aggregate to Qarabag.

The ease with which they won the 1st Leg suggests the gulf in class is likely to be evident again here. Crusaders have now scored one and conceded 14 in their three European games this season. They even lost a friendly against Northern Irish Championship side Larne at the weekend and they certainly aren’t playing with the same swagger that fired them to a league title last term.

Olimpija have more all-round quality and will want to try to build some momentum here and backing an Away Win looks like it could be the best move.