FC Santa Coloma vs KF Drita Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

The Champions League final may have been just a month ago, but the new campaign is about to get underway. The road to the 2019 final in Madrid is kicking off in Gibraltar on Tuesday night, as Santa Coloma meet Drita. The Champions League is going under a revamp this season, and the qualifying campaign is even tougher to get through. Neither of these two are going all the way to the group stage, but who is going to fall at the first hurdle?

The champions of Andorra and Kosovo meet in the opening clash on the preliminary round, which features the four lowest ranked nations in qualifying. These two clash in the opening game of what features as a mini-tournament to kick off Europe’s top competition. The four sides meet in a one off semi-final clash before Friday’s final, to send one side in to the First Round of the Qualifying phase. While we couldn’t be any further from the final at the Wanda Metropolitano, this is still a huge occasion for both sides.

However, that big occasion could bring out a dull clash, with both sides eager to avoid any major errors. Santa Coloma don’t have that many successful Champions League outings under their belt, having gone nine matches without a win. Meanwhile, Kosovo – a relatively new face in UEFA competition – send first time entrants Drita, who won the Superliga by three points last term. Can they follow that up by claiming victory in this mini-tournament.

The visitors finished the season in brilliant away form, keeping a clean sheet in seven of their last 10 trips. They haven’t conceded more than once in their last 14 trips, and they head in to this huge clash with a strong defensive record backing them up. As they take on a side who have failed to score in six of their previous eight Champions League outings, we can’t expect goals in this one.

The first timers are going to take some time to step up against fellow national champions, and they aren’t likely to tear forward. As they make this trip having seen under 2.5 goals land in 12 of their last 13 away matches, we’re backing under 2.5 goals as our main tip here, along with a 1-1 draw.