Conference League Quali, 3rd round, second leg, Thursday, 15.08.2024 at 20:30
Injury-plagued Wisla Krakow and Spartak Trnava go into the Conference League second leg of the third qualifying round. The teams will meet again on Thursday in the Polish capital after a first leg full of chances, which ended 3:1 in favor of the Slovakians.
The odds for this match are anything but difficult. The teams have numerous defensive absences, Krakow will have to take offensive risks and this should be another high-scoring affair
Lucrative exchange of blows between Trnava and Krakow in the first duel. It was the visitors who scored the opening goal in the first half. However, Spartak head coach Michal Gasparik, who has been in charge since 2021, found the right words at the break.
They equalized immediately after the restart. The two further goals were not long in coming. Krakow now have a tough task ahead of them in front of their home crowd.
The Poles are highly unlikely to progress at 6.70. Trnava has a 1.09 in this market with our top betting providers. The 1X2 outright bets for the second leg are balanced, with 2.45 for Krakow and 2.72 for Trnava.
However, I give these odds a wide berth. The reason for this is the massive personnel problems for both teams, especially the defenses are shaken. I think the best odds are the “Double chance 1X” odds, which scratch the 1.50 mark.
After all, it is the visitors who will travel to the reigning Polish cup winners with a very thin defense. And Krakow warmed up at home at the weekend, winning 3:1 against Ruch Chorzow
Center forward Angel Rodado scored twice, his form is good. In the first leg, it was the Spaniard who put Krakow ahead. The qualifying phase suits the 27-year-old. He has scored in four out of five matches.
Krakow completed the first two rounds of Europa League qualifying and, after two wins against Llapi, were clearly defeated by Rapid Vienna, 1-2 and 1-6. Internationally, the clean sheet only lasted once, but at least the offense struck every time
In the domestic league, Krakow are in tenth place after three games, Wisla finished the previous season in the same position, scoring 62 goals and having the second-best offense, but also conceding a whopping 50 goals.
The 13-time Polish champions play a 4-2-3-1 system under their “new” head coach Kazimierz Moskal. The 57-year-old is coaching Wisla for the third time.
Due to the injury situation, Krakow will rely on new signing Wiktor Biedrzycki in central defense to keep the center tight alongside captain Alan Uryga.
Trnava have just four fit defensive players in their squad. The league game was postponed last weekend in order to preserve its personnel. The Bili Andeli, the white angels, are unbeaten so far.
Third place in Slovakia’s top league took the team into the Conference League qualifiers. A 0-0 draw in Sarajevo was followed by a resounding 3-0 win in the reunion. The two league games have also ended goalless so far
The results definitely don’t put me off scoring for either team. Wisla are too accurate for that, but at the same time too vulnerable with their bold forward play.
The defense shouldn’t be any more stable when a two-goal deficit has to be made up and the formation height should be correspondingly high.
Over 2.5 goals and the like also bring tempting odds on the betting slip.
It won’t be a piece of cake to score against Spartak, however, as Gasparik’s team has only conceded one goal in five games
The basis for stability is a playing system with two sixes in front of the back four. Veteran Michal Duris has scored four of the six competitive goals.
When the goalscoring markets open up, a Duris and Rodado single bet is not a bad option. If you want to get even higher odds, you could combine the two top scorers of the early season
Conclusion: Krakow will be looking to turn around a 3-1 deficit against Trnava at home. The 13-time Polish champions are stronger at home anyway and recorded their first league treble in front of their fans at the weekend.
Striker Rodado in particular is in top form. At the same time, Spartak’s numerous chances in the first encounter will make it difficult to keep a clean sheet in the reunion.
Trnava are also likely to have more counter-attacking options than in the first match. After all, Krakow will have to throw more into the attack from a certain point onwards in order to equalize the deficit.
My Wisla Krakow Spartak Trnava betting tip is therefore: Both teams will score!
