Conference League Quali, Playoffs, second leg, Thursday, 29.08.2024 at 20:00
Drita is not the name of a city, but stands for the Albanian word “light”. And the Kosovars are currently in desperate need of a ray of hope if they are to successfully free themselves from this predicament.
According to my Drita Legia Warsaw tip, they are in danger of being eliminated from the UECL play-off phase. But they could still win the second leg
A regular squad analysis of the various teams is just as important for my betting friends and me as knowing the best sports betting bonus currently available on the internet.
In the course of a recent evaluation of Legia Warsaw’s squad for the 2024/25 season, I was amazed at how inexpensively the Poles were able to strengthen.
The capable Jean-Pierre Nsame, Ruben Vinagre and Luquinhas were all brought to Poland on loan and are now immediately the three most valuable players within the club in terms of market value
Nsame, who was a successful striker for Young Boys for a long time, is currently injured, but this line-up could easily catapult Legia Warsaw back to the top of the Ekstraklasa if they are in top form.
For the time being, however, they have to deal with a tedious task in the Conference League play-off phase that should have been decided long ago.
According to the bookmakers’ Drita Legia Warsaw odds for the first leg, the Poles went into the game with odds of just 1.20 to win.
What’s more, the Kosovars were down to ten men from the 31st minute onwards – and yet the Poles “only” managed to win 2:0
We can only speculate how the game would have gone if Gomda had not been sent off with a straight red after half an hour.
This sending off almost turned the course of the game on its head.
In the first half, Legia still had 54% possession and also had 6 shots on goal. After the break, however, these two figures rose to 82% and 16 shots respectively.
In short: If Drita had continued to play with eleven players, the Poles would probably not have scored two goals after half-time
The underdogs can’t buy anything from this, but it’s still too early to throw in the towel.
Although this club only played its first European Cup match in 2018, it has been able to celebrate smaller international successes from time to time since then – especially at home.
For a European flyweight with a squad worth just 5 million, wringing a 0-0 draw out of Feyenoord in the 2021/22 season or beating Inter Turku 3-0 in their own stadium a year later is not exactly a matter of course
The German bookmakers’ respect for the Kosovars has increased considerably after their performance in the first leg.
A week ago, Drita started with odds of around 13.0 to win, but these are now “only” 4.70 on average.
Although this still corresponds to a clear underdog role, the bookmakers are now at least putting a home win within the realms of possibility
Whether the home strength of the Kosovars has also influenced the Drita Legia Warsaw odds? After all, the hosts have only lost one competitive game at home during the regular season in the 2024 calendar year.
However, the Balkan footballers will not necessarily be playing “at home” on Thursday.
The game will be played in the slightly larger Fadil Vokrri Stadium, which belongs to FC Prishtina and was named after the former president of the Kosovo Football Association.
I wouldn’t want to take too many risks with a Drita Legia Warsaw betting tip on Thursday.
A bet on a home win would be too risky for me, while even risk-averse sports betting fans might increasingly favor a double chance 1X bet.
However, some might want to take even less risk and bet on a “Drita wins with handicap +2”.
This offer is trading at odds of around 1.37, still suitable for a slightly longer combined betting slip.
By the way: The two clubs were no strangers to each other even before the first leg last week.
They met once before in the coronavirus era, and the game ended in a 2-0 win for the Poles – without the Kosovars ever being able to benefit from their home advantage.
This factor alone could make it much harder for Legia to prevail in a heated environment on Thursday.
Conclusion: In the second leg between Drita and Legia Warsaw, the Poles will be under pressure after they should have achieved more in the first leg.
Although Legia’s progress does not appear to be in serious danger, the combination of a full Kosovar squad and their home advantage could prove problematic for the visitors.
Drita may be considered a footballing flyweight, but the club has already proven that it is good for regular surprises, as the 0-0 draw against Feyenoord shows.
It will be interesting to see whether Legia Warsaw can live up to their role as favorites on the betting markets.
My Drita Legia Warsaw tip: Double chance 1X.
