Champions League Preview: Dundalk -v- Qarabag

DUNDALK

Fresh from their European exploits in Latvia, Dundalk face a fresh, more difficult challenge in the form of Azerbaijani powerhouse Qarabag in the second qualifying round of the Champions League, the first leg taking place at a sold-out Oriel Park on Wednesday night (kick-off 7.45pm).

Head coach Vinny Perth, who truly basked in the glory of that penalty shoot-out win over Riga FC, is under no illusions about the size of the task that lies ahead when his team faces Azerbaijan’s finest.

“It’s obviously a really difficult tie. They’ve got very strong pedigree in European football and a lot of really quality players but, we’re at home,” said Perth during Tuesday afternoon’s press conference.

“We’ve got to be patient in the game and understand that they’ll have a certain amount of the football.

“We’re going to have to set up a certain shape to suit that but at the same time, we’ve got really good attacking players.

“Generally, we score goals in games and it’s a night for someone to stand up and score a big European goal for us and that’s the challenge for the players.

“It’s a very difficult tie but at the same time, here in Oriel, we’ll have a right go at them and we feel there are some areas where we can exploit them.

“At the same time, we’re very understanding that they’re a good side who will hold a lot of the ball for long periods of time.”

Vastly experienced, Qarabag have played over 70 matches in UEFA club competition since 2013, but Perth insists that his troops relish nights like these, where they can test themselves against the best.

“I think as a side, Qarabag are up there as one of the better sides we’ve played against over the years because of how technically good they are on the ball.

“I think that gives them an advantage over some of the other teams we’ve played against, so we’re going to have to go up to another level and that’s been the challenge to the players.

“We spoke about it in the off-season about Europe and what Europe means to this group, they want to be challenged by Europe. It is a big challenge for us but at the same time, these are the games you want to test yourself in.

“It is Champions League football and the rewards in terms of the next round are huge for us, so we’ll have a go.

“We certainly won’t feel that the tie isn’t there to be won. We feel we’ve an opportunity to win the tie, albeit we know it’s a very difficult tie.”

Michael Duffy returns after missing last week’s win in Riga due the birth of his first child. The injured Jordan Flores and Stephen Folan are the only notable omissions from the squad.

QARABAG

Qarabag eliminated Albanian champions Partizani Tirana 2-0 on aggregate in the previous round and will be the overwhelming favourites to set up a likely third qualifying round tie with APOEL of Cyprus.

However, manager Gurban Gurbanov – who has been with Qarabag since 2008 – is conscious of the threat posed by the League of Ireland champions, insisting that his team will need to be “careful.”

“We must be very attentive because the opponent is very serious and ambitious. We saw their first qualification game against Riga.

“We have seen that they played better in the first game as opposed to the second leg,” he told Irish reporters just before their final training session on Tuesday evening.

“A main feature of Dundalk is that no matter if they are playing at home or away, they are good at analysing their opponent from a tactical point of view.

“They have good, rapid players and beginning from the coach, I know they have a very desirable collective, so we have to be careful tomorrow.”

According to Gurbanov, the Azerbaijani champions, who are yet to start their domestic campaign, have no fresh injury concerns heading into this first-leg tie, with a full 22-man squad to choose from.

Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (Poland).

MATCH FACTS

Veteran goalkeeper Gary Rogers is poised to make his 42nd appearance in European competition against Qarabag, which would be the most any League of Ireland player has ever played in Europe.

Dundalk haven’t lost a European match at Oriel Park since Hajduk Split beat them 2-0 in a Europa League qualifier in 2014.

BATE Borisov (2015), FH Hafnarfjordur (2016), Rosenborg (2017), Levadia Tallinn, AEK Larnaca (2018) and Riga FC (2019) have all since failed to win at the Co. Louth venue.

This will be the first time ever that a League of Ireland side has faced a club from Azerbaijan.

BETTING

Dundalk 2/1; Draw 17/10; Qarabag 5/4

PREDICTION

Dundalk 1-1 Qarabag

Dundalk

Injured: Jordan Flores, Stephen Folan.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.

Qarabag

Injured: None.

Doubtful: None.

Suspended: None.