Crusaders vs Wolverhampton Predictions

Wolves are heading to Seaview aiming to land their first continental trip in Europe this term. They’ve been handed a straightforward task in the second qualifying round against Northern Irish side Crusaders, but will meet Czech or Armenian opposition in the next round of the Europa League, provided they complete the job in this second leg. The Premier League outfit make this trip with a 2-0 lead from their opening European game in the modern era. Will Wolves follow that up with another victory in this clash?

The hosts lifted the Irish Cup in May, while they secured fourth place in the league earlier this year. Overall it was a good season for Crusaders, who now have a European test against a talented Premier League side. It’s a major hill for the Northern Irish outfit to climb, as they are working on a fraction of the budget. The hosts were able to sweep aside B36 in their last European tie, but they fought hard in their 2-0 away defeat at Wolves, which laid their limitations bare.

While Wolves are already ahead, that doesn’t mean they’ll hold back here. The Premier League side had limited preseason action – playing just two matches, both in the Premier League Asia Trophy. Although Wolves got a test from Premier League sides, they need minutes ahead of the new campaign. They need to feature their top players as we edge towards their opener with Leicester, a clash which already seems huge in the race for the European spots this season.

With Wolves coming here with a strong side, it’s no surprise that they have been made heavy favourites to secure a second-leg win. Crusaders have lost eight of their last 12 in Europe, including three defeats in five at home. That’s left them struggling at this stage of the competition, as they’ve never made it past the second round of the qualifiers in either the Champions League or Europa League. It’s difficult to see that changing against Wolves.

The visitors come into this clash having kept a clean sheet in four of their last five matches, including all of their summer games. They have already shut out Newcastle and Man City in the new campaign, while we can see another clean sheet against Crusaders. However, the hosts have conceded just four times across their last five home games in this competition, so this won’t be a heavy away win. We see Wolves’ quality edging it, but an away win and under 3.5 goals looks like good value following the first leg.