Champions League 1st and 2nd qualifying rounds

[traeth]

First qualifying round draw (28/29 June and 5/6 July)
SP Tre Fiori (SMN) v Valletta FC (MLT)
FC Santa Coloma (AND) v F91 Dudelange (LUX)

Second qualifying round draw (12/13 and 19/20 July)
Maccabi Haifa FC (ISR) v FK Borac Banja Luka (BIH)
FK Mogren (MNE) v PFC Litex Lovech (BUL)
NK Maribor (SVN) v FC Santa Coloma (AND) or F91 Dudelange (LUX)
KS Skënderbeu (ALB) v APOEL FC (CYP)
ŠK Slovan Bratislava (SVK) v FC Tobol Kostanay (KAZ)
SK Sturm Graz (AUT) v Videoton FC (HUN)
FC Zestafoni (GEO) v FC Dacia Chisinau (MDA)
NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Neftçi PFK (AZE)
FC Pyunik (ARM) v FC Viktoria Plzeň (CZE)
FK Partizan (SRB) v FK Skendija 79 (MKD)
SP Tre Fiori (SMN) or Valletta FC (MLT) v FK Ekranas (LTU)
Malmö FF (SWE) v HB Tórshavn (FRO)
Shamrock Rovers FC (IRL) v FC Flora Tallinn (EST)
Rosenborg BK (NOR) v Breidablik (ISL)
HJK Helsinki (FIN) v Bangor City FC (WAL)
Skonto FC (LVA) v Wisła Kraków (POL)
Linfield FC (NIR) v FC BATE Borisov (BLR

[traeth]

bwin first with the odds

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Champions League - qualification, Europe
5:00 PM FC Santa Columa 9/2 X 13/5 F91 Dudelange 11/20
5:00 PM SP Tre Fiori 8/1 X 5/1 Valletta 1/5

Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Champions League - qualification, Europe
5:00 PM FC Pyunik 14/5 X 49/20 FC Viktoria Plzen 4/5
5:00 PM FC Zestafoni 3/4 X 49/20 FC Dacia Chisinau 3/1
5:00 PM FK Mogren 3/1 X 49/20 Litex Lovech 3/4
5:00 PM HJK 3/20 X 5/1 Bangor City 25/2
5:00 PM Linfield 11/2 X 11/4 BATE Borisov 9/20
5:00 PM Maccabi Haifa 4/25 X 11/2 Borac Banja Luka 10/1
5:00 PM Malmo FF 1/20 X 9/1 HB Torshavn 17/1
5:00 PM NK Dinamo Zagreb 1/5 X 5/1 PFC Neftchi 8/1
5:00 PM Partizan Belgrade 4/25 X 11/2 Skendija 79 10/1
5:00 PM Rosenborg 1/10 X 7/1 Breidablik 13/1
5:00 PM Shamrock Rovers 4/5 X 12/5 Flora Tallinn 14/5
5:00 PM SK Slovan Bratislava 1/5 X 5/1 FC Tobol Kostanay 8/1
5:00 PM Skenderbeu 13/2 X 13/4 A.P.O.E.L. 7/20
5:00 PM Skonto FC 6/1 X 3/1 Wisla Krakow 2/5

Bangor have got a difficult trip to Helsinki , going to be difficult getting anything from either leg

[HastGill1]

Didn't Bangor City play another Finnish side last year at the same stage last year? Yep, just looked it up FC Honka and they won 3-2 over the 2 legs..either way at 3/20 Helsinki are none too appealing..the qualifiers last year weren't as profitable as the year before (Maccabi Haifa v Glentoran anyone?) and I got burnt on a few games involving British sides as I presumed they were worse than they actually were.

Needs a fair bit of research anyway, most of these are a bloody minefield..I love it

[traeth]

Originally Posted by HastGill1

Didn't Bangor City play another Finnish side last year at the same stage last year? Yep, just looked it up FC Honka and they won 3-2 over the 2 legs..either way at 3/20 Helsinki are none too appealing..the qualifiers last year weren't as profitable as the year before (Maccabi Haifa v Glentoran anyone?) and I got burnt on a few games involving British sides as I presumed they were worse than they actually were.

Needs a fair bit of research anyway, most of these are a bloody minefield..I love it

I lost when I backed Honka v Bangor ,
Bangor had held Honka to a draw away and I was confident that it was "luck" but Bangor won 2-1 at Wrexham
so it was a loss

we should be able to "make" some money here , or should we be cautious and give this comp a miss?

[traeth]

a bit of news re Bangor

these comments from Powell , Bangor's manager
Nev Powell says stopping Jari Litmanen will be his side's priority in their Champions League match against HJK Helsinki. The former Liverpool and Barcelona star joined the Finnish champions in April
"They are a better side than Honka. Litmanen plays for them and they've got a couple of Brazilians so we're under no illusions it's going to be difficult.
"They play on a plastic pitch as well, which is a massive advantage for them."
Bangor were drawn to play away in the first leg on 12/13 July but have agreed to HJK Helsinki's request to switch the ties around with the first meeting at Rhyl's Belle Vue

[traeth]

these are the uefa coefficient rankings

290 Bangor City Wal ranking 2.058
234 HJK Helsinki Fin rankings 3.793

not sure how much basis I should put on these as the top two are as follows

1 Manchester United Eng ranking 151.157
2 FC Barcelona Esp ranking 141.465

you can find the others here

UEFA Team Ranking 2011

[HastGill1]

I don't think the British sides are playing anyone that they should fear much (not in this round anyway) bar Linfield who are facing top seeds BATE who are 14 games into their season (10-4-0) and should easily win through over 2 legs although I'll rely on dee to provide us with a bit of a clue about Linfield's transfer activity post season..Linfield seem crazily good at home, win virtually every game, also vital to remember a few of us were on Rosenborg heavy away to Linfield last season (me ),I think at the same stage, and it ended 0-0 at home, under 2.5 might be a good call on their home leg..

Partizan will be on a crazy handicap but I might take it, very strong at home..

Think it would be easy to expect Bangor to lose by a couple but, again, I think under 2.5 might be the way to go in that one..Bangor, bound to defend for their lives, try and get anything to take back home..certainly wouldn't fancy backing a Finnish side on a handicap against anyone, maybe on a corner handicap or something if available.