Laci vs Molde Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Laci and Molde will do it all again in Northern Albania on Thursday with a place in the UEFA Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round at stake for the winners. This tie may be of particular interest to Hibs fans, with the winners facing the winners of the Scottish side’s clash with Asteras Tripolis of Greece.

In truth there is only one side that is likely to progress here. Molde won the 1st Leg 3-0 in Norway to take firm control of the tie. They were 2-0 up inside 24 minutes and threatening to run riot but ultimately had to wait until Leke James added a potentially killer third goal with ten minutes to go. Without an away goal to play with, Laci face a massive uphill task here to get back into this one.

Molde are in decent form overall with 5 wins from their last 6 in all competitions. They saw off Glenavon in the last round, despite losing the away leg and are currently sitting in 3rd place in the Norwegian Eliteserien. That campaign is now past its midway point and they may consider resting players here as they aim to push Brann and Rosenborg for the title.

As for Laci, this is a rare European adventure for them. They won their first ever European match in the last round with a 1-0 win over Anorthosis Famagusta at home, although it’s not the first time they’ve won a European tie given they beat Rudar Velenje on penalties after two draws in this competition four years ago. The Albanian league season is yet to start and it seems inevitable that their European campaign will end here.

However there is reason to think they can at least avoid defeat in the home leg. Molde certainly have the kind of margin where they can afford to leave key men out as they deal with this busy period in their season and there is a huge disparity between their home and away form. They’ve only won 1 of their last 7 competitive away matches and just 1 of their last 8 including friendlies. That’s a really poor record for a side going pretty well in their league and they just appear much more comfortable on their own patch, with the last round offering further evidence of that as they won big at home but lost away.

The same is largely true of Laci who have avoided defeat in 4 of their 6 European home games, despite a poor record in continental action overall. They’ve only been beaten once at home in 2018 in competitive action and overall there may be some value in backing Laci Double Chance here, although they’ve no realistic chance of turning the three goal deficit around.