The champions of Wales and Northern Ireland clash at the first stage of Champions League qualifying on Tuesday evening, when The New Saints play host to Linfield at Park Hall Stadium with kickoff at 9 pm.
After securing a domestic double with victory in last season’s Welsh Cup final, The New Saints were back in training for their latest crack at the Champions League – a competition in which they have never before reached the group stage.
The Oswestry outfit have reached either the third or fourth qualifying round of either the Europa League or Europa Conference League three times out of four years, so certainly start with some hope of causing an upset or two this season.
After making it two wins from two in their opening pair of pre-season friendlies – a 5-1 victory over last season’s Cymru Premier runners-up Bala Town and a 2-1 success against Cliftonville – the Oswestry outfit were beaten 2-0 by Larne last Wednesday, in their final warm-up game.
Having spent a week in Spain, Linfield host the Qatar national team in their first pre-season outing and come away victorious. They follow this result with a draw against Newtown, then a defeat to SPFL side St. Mirren. However, it is worth noting that loanee Daniel Finlayson scores for the Blues after 19 minutes.
New Saints vs Linfield Head to Head
Both sides are yet to face against each other and this marks their first encounter. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Larne FC 2-0 New Saints
- New Saints 2-1 Cliftonville
- New Saints 3-2 Warrington
- Saints 5-1 Bala Town
Away
- Linfield 1-2 St. Mirren
- Linfield 0-0 Newtown
- Coleraine 0-2 Linfield
- Linfield 0-0 Larne FC
New Saints Team News
Two summer signings will be in contention to start for The New Saints on Tuesday night. Josh Daniels, a former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international, joins goalkeeper Daniel Atherton in Anthony Limbrick’s squad. Daniels has previous experience of the UEFA Youth League, while Atherton features as the hosts’ last line of defence.
Linfield FC Team News
Linfield will be without their main man in attack as Christy Manzinga recently left for Hungarian club Zalaegerszegi after finishing as the club’s top scorer with 20 goals from 37 appearances. In his absence, there should be a first competitive outing for striker Robbie McDaid, who arrived at the club from rivals Glentoran last week.
Prediction and Odds
Both sides are likely to play cautiously in the first leg of this tie, so the match could be a close-fought affair at Park Hall.
- Double Chance
- Draw
- Goals Under 3.5
