Hibernians hosts Flora in the second leg of the Champions League qualification 1/8 finals. The match will be played on Tuesday, July 13th at Centenary Stadium (Ta' Qali)
Hibernians were supposed to play in the Europa League qualification, as they became the silver medalists in the previous season of the Maltese Premier League. But the triumphant Flarmune Spartans were punished for match-fixing back in 2013. So, the first place went to the vice-champions, who look simply not ready for such a level. The Peacocks could not show anything even against such a modest opponent as Flora. However, they held on and even had a higher percentage of ball possession in Tallinn. Sergio Raffael let them down seriously: the 28-year-old Brazilian defender picked up two yellow cards within a couple of minutes. Having left in the minority, his team conceded two goals.
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Flora is one of the strongest teams in Estonia. And this allows the Cacti to start in qualifications for European competitions with enviable regularity. But they didn’t manage to eliminate even the first opponent in the Champions League. Sometimes Estonians managed to win at home, but this was not enough. Even a 3-1 victory over Steaua didn’t help Flora to advance to the next round, as the Romanians hammered the Balts in Bucharest (4-1). In 2020 everything was decided by a penalty shootout: then the teams played one leg, and Flora tied 1-1 against Suduva (2-4 on penalties). But having moved to the Europa League qualifiers, the Greens managed to eliminate KR Reykjavik and Floriana (this one was beaten on penalties), and only Dinamo Zagreb stopped them on their way to the group stage (1-3). Now FC Flora is fighting for the title with Paide and, most importantly, Levadia. Perhaps, it was the presence of constant practice that allowed the Cacti to put the squeeze on the guests from Malta last Tuesday. Sappinen netted a brace in the 75th and 89th minutes, and this result creates a good handicap. But is that enough?
The first leg opened up a history of head-to-head confrontations between the clubs. By the way, Flora eliminated the mentioned Floriana, which also represents Malta. Now FC Flora will strive for the result, so it will probably choose defensive tactics. And it's far from certain that the hosts will find ways to upset its goalkeeper. We bet on Under 2.5 goals scored.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 goals scored
