Keflavik - Valletta

The first match was played in very hot weather and the conditions prevented Icelanders from showing all they’d got. Home side Valletta FC easily won the game 3:0 and thus created a big advantage before the return leg, but this time weather conditions will favour Keflavik, who is in my opinion better team here and I expect a completely different match from the one played a week ago.

Keflavik are one of the strongest teams in Iceland and they missed out on the league title last season by just one point. Second place was enough for the place in Europa League, where they met Valletta in the first qualifying round. The visitors were considered favourites in the first leg since their domestic season was well under way, but that proved to be a disadvantage after all. The game in Valletta was the third in the course of one week for Keflavik and the players were evidently tired, especially since they had a long trip to Malta. The weather was very hot, which is something the Icelanders were not used to and all these problems resulted in heavy defeat. Nevertheless, I am positive Keflavik are better team than Valletta and they are now hot favourites in the return leg, since the return leg will be played in completely different conditions, in which the visitors will have problems. Keflavik are also extremely convincing in home games, having dropped just two points in 6 home games this season and they are obviously hot favourites to win this game.

Maltese club Valletta are one of the most successive teams in their country, having won 19 league titles. The team finished second in Maltese League last season, two points behind champions Hibernians, but that is not such a big success considering that Maltese League is one of the weakest in Europe. The team were reinforced this season with Dutch veterans Cruyff and Den Ouden and these were the players who helped the team record a convincing win in the first leg. However, the team are likely to have big problems in the return leg as they are still far away from the desired form, considering that their domestic season is yet to start. The team mostly consist of veteran players and they will have big problems acclimatizing to adverse weather conditions at Iceland, especially after such a long trip. Apart from Cruyff and Den Ouden, boss Ton Caanen has a very poor team and they will struggle to match Keflavik.

Keflavik are great at home and they are much better team than the first match showed. They easily won most of the home games against much stronger teams than Valletta and I expect them to record another win. The visitors profited from Keflavik’s problems in the first leg but the situation will be completely different now and they will struggle to hold on to the three-goal lead. Betting odds on home win are pretty decent considering the circumstances and that is my advice for this match, although those of you willing to risk can take Keflavik with -1 handicap.
Bet 5 on Keflavik with -1 handicap at 2.30 at Paddy Power

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