Riga FC take on the visitors Vikingur Reykjavik Narva in the first leg of UEFA Conference League qualification round of 1/8-finals. The match will be played on Thursday, July 13th at Skonto stadions (Riga).
Riga are showing good results. The Lions will only celebrate their first full anniversary next spring, as the project was launched in 2014 by merging the capital's Dynamo and another local club, Karambu. It proved successful as they won the First League right away and finished in 3rd place in 2017, followed by a double gold in the next cycle. However, they were unable to maintain the same level of performance afterward, although the team became Latvian champions two more times. After a slight decline, they finished in 2nd place last year, securing their current entry into the Conference League. In the Virsliga, Riga is currently neck and neck with their neighbor RFSh, and it is clear that only one of these two teams has a chance to win the championship title. Now they need to shift their focus to the European stage. While the Baltics have never made it to the group stage, they have eliminated someone in addition to their debut attempt. Last year, also in the Conference League, Riga overcame Derry City and Ružomberok but then faltered against Gil Vicente.
Vikingur are currently dominating national football. Víkingar was founded in 1908, more than a century before their first opponent in this European round appeared. In fact, they won their debut championship title in 1920. The capital's project has since won 7 such trophies and 4 cups. Last year, they finished in 3rd place but also achieved success in the Icelandic Cup and Super Cup. Currently, the representative from Reykjavik is comfortably leading in the top league of the distant island. Therefore, attention can be fully focused on the European stage. By the way, things started to work out there a year ago. Before that, they were eliminated in the first round of all six starts. However, in 2022, they defeated Levadia and Inter Escaldes in the Champions League preliminary rounds. Although they were eliminated by Malmö, the Icelanders managed to defeat New Saints in the Conference League and had a minimal victory against Lech, only falling apart in extra time in Poznań.
The Latvians are considered favorites at home, although not without a challenge. However, it is unlikely to be an easy game for them. Let's consider a suggestion of under 2.5 total goals.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
