The New Saints vs Linfield Belfast – 05/07/2022
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The 1st qualifying round of this season’s Champions League will feature during this week and one of the fixtures concerns this upcoming encounter between Welsh hosts, The New Saints (TNS), and their Irish counterparts, Linfield, when the two teams face off at Park Hall Stadium on Tuesday night.
TNS finished top of last season’s Welsh Premier League by a massive margin of 21 points ahead of runners-up, Pentybont, in what was a triumphant campaign and one which has seen TNS qualify for another Champions League campaign.
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Attentions turn to Europe as we prepare for our UCL first leg tie against @tnsfc ??#COYB #AFJ pic.twitter.com/fiaYzY01rX
— Linfield FC (@OfficialBlues) July 4, 2022
Tuesday’s hosts have been in pretty solid form as one would expect from a team that has sealed their domestic top flight league title and indeed, TNS have lost just two of their last 25 matches overall, while also picking up 20 wins in the process.
However, Champions League football bring tougher opposition and the prospect of a home win here for TNS may lessen with the visit of Linfield (indeed, TNS have won just one of their last six home ties).
But goals could feature in this 1st leg clash as seven of TNS’s last 10 matches in all competitions have resulted in over 2.5 goals being scored.
Linfield pipped rivals Cliftonville to the Northern Ireland Premiership title by a slender one-point margin at the end of last season’s domestic top flight campaign which saw Linfield qualify for the early rounds of this season’s Champions League.
Overall results have also been promising for the visitors as well, as Linfield have lost just one of their last 12 matches in all competitions while also picking up a total of eight wins during this sequence, so Linfield will also fancy their chances of securing a result in this opening leg.
However, results away from home at this level have, for the most part, eluded Linfield as the Irish visitors have won just two of their last eight outings on the road in this elite European competition but goals have featured on a more consistent basis.
Five of TNS’s last seven home ties and five of Linfield’s last eight away ties in the Champions League have seen 3 goals or more scored, so the over 2.5 goals mark looks to be on the cards for this 1st leg clash.
