Master duel between Slovenia and Sweden: Maribor receives the Scandinavian titleholder Solna! The hosts did not give themselves up in the first round of qualifying for the Champions League: Iceland’s representative Valur Reykjavik was knocked out of the competition 5-0 by the addition of the two games. For failed the start in the domestic Prva League. It was a surprising 1: 2 home defeat against Triglav and last weekend was only a draw with Rudar Velenje achieved. As part of the qualification for a European competition Maribor is traditionally very strong home – for six years despite a regular participation no match was lost in front of their own audience.
Football Betting Tips Maribor vs Solna
The guests will turn out to be tough. Although the draw in the next round against the Armenian titleholders FC Ararat-Armenia was harder than expected, but in the domestic league the kickers from the Swedish capital are in second place and still have good chances to defend a title. Furthermore, due to the advanced national season, AIK Stockholm is in a better competitive mode than the home side. For Maribor against Solna, the tip is that the hosts will not lose and they will score less than three goals given the Scandinavians’ strong defense.
Maribor – Statistics & Current Form
Maribor now has 15 league titles in Slovenia – record! With the exception of NK Olimpija Ljubljana, there is no serious competitor at national level. The worst adversary was also significantly weakened in the summer, as they secured the services of Rok Kronaveter. In the past four seasons, he was the best scorer in the Green and White, so his departure has left a real gap in the Slovenian capital. In Maribor, the efficient attacker immediately integrated well and scored in two of the first four missions. Seasonally, Kronaveter has a phenomenal scoring of 70 percent in the last ten matches!
“We can really be satisfied with how hard the guys worked to be able to play so well. We can not stress this enough: The game was extremely complicated due to the turf and weather conditions, but the level of mental preparation was excellent.” – Maribor coach Darko Milanič via club website after the 3-0 away win in the previous round
In the offensive coach Darko Milanič, who has already collected four championship titles and performed briefly for Leeds United and Sturm Graz, the coaching office, fall back on another experienced striker.
Marcos Tavares is a true legend of Slovenian football. No other player has scored more goals than the Brazilian in the history of the Prva Liga. Although Tavares is already 35 years old, the goalkeeping does not stop the Maribor captain from proving once more in the second leg of the second leg tie against Valur.
However, the use of Luka Zahovic is questionable. The 23-year-old picked up the top scorer in the last two seasons of the Prva Liga, but Zahovic has not played in that season due to injury. Due to the exceptional position in Slovenia, the Vijoličasti are also very experienced on the European stage. Two years ago, for example, the group stage of the premier class was achieved for the third time in club history and wrested in this, among others, Sevilla a 1-1 in front of home crowd. Other heavyweights in European club football, such as Chelsea and Sporting, also had to settle for a draw at their previous Maribor appearances. Last year, however, the qualifying phase for the Europa League was less successful, as in the third round came the draw against the Rangers from Scotland.
Expected formation of Maribor:
➢ Piric – Viler – Pericic – Ivkovic – Milec – Cretu – Vrhovec – Kotnik – Kronaveter – Hotic Tavares
Last matches from Maribor:
20.07.2019 – Rudar Pljevlja vs. Maribor 1: 1 (1st SNL)
17.07.2019 – Maribor Vs. Valur Reykjavik 2: 0 (Champions League)
13.07.2019 – Maribor Vs. Triglav 1: 2 (1st SNL)
10.07.2019 – Valur Reykjavik Vs. Maribor 0: 3 (Champions League)
03.07.2019 – Maribor Vs. Gorica 4: 1 (friendly)
Solna – Statistics & Current Form
After a dry spell of nine years Solna celebrated at the end of last season the twelfth title of club history in the Swedish Allsvenskan. The triumph was very clear, as the Stockholm with 67 points equaled the previous league record of 2010 Malmö FF. Currently, the AIK Solna is again in the title fight after about half of the current season: So are the capitals in second place and within striking distance to the current leader of the table from Malmö. The dress rehearsal last weekend in the form of the home game against Helsingborg was also confidently completed with a 2: 0.
In the first round of qualifying for the Champions League, the Swedes presented surprisingly shaky. The Armenian champions FC Ararat-Armenia, who were formed only two years ago to claim the title as promoted, put on a surprise 2-1 away defeat in Yerevan. The not yet unearned result was shot in the second leg thanks to a 3-1 in the Friends Arena home. Meraget has much less experience than Maribor at the European level: For seven years, Solna was no longer qualified for the group stage of a European competition. Instead, the Scandinavians have failed in the last five years always qualifying for the Europa League.
Coach Rikard Norling will bet on offense mainly on his captain Henok Goitom. The attacker from Eritrea is also 34 years old as Marcos Tavares on the other side also an oldie on the court, but still very accurate. In the decisive 3-1 win against Ararat-Armenia Goitom contributed a double strike and in two of the last three official games the Eritrean, although he was spared last weekend and only came in for the last 22 minutes of the season.
In the last championship season, Goitom was already the best scorer in the jersey of Solna. Above all, Stockholm has a very good defensive position – together with Malmö, the captains are the best defense network in Sweden. Not a new brand after AIK’s strongest defensive last season at Allsvenskan, with an astonishing record of just 16 goals in 30 league appearances. On the European stage, the defense is usually stable. Read out that in eight out of ten recent qualifying stages, fewer than three goals were scored.
Expected formation of Solna:
➢ Linner – Lindkvist – Dimitriadis – Granli – Lundstrom – Rashidi – Hussein – Adu – Larsson – Goitom Sigthorsson
Last matches of Solna:
20.07.2019 – Solna Vs. Helsingborg 2: 0 (Allsvenskan)
17.07.2019 – Solna Vs. Ararat Armenia 3: 1 (Champions League)
13.07.2019 – Solna Vs. IF Elfsborg 3: 0 (Allsvenskan)
09.07.2019 – Ararat Armenia Vs. Solna 2: 1 (Champions League)
06.07.2019 – Kalmar Vs. Solna 0: 1 (Allsvenskan)
Maribor vs Solna Direct Comparison & Statistics Highlights
The duel in the stadium Ljudski vrt between Maribor and Solna takes place for the first time and the odds are not really a favorite. Apart from that, the Violets have not had a good experience with a Swedish team as opponents: The Slovenians conceded a 1-4 defeat in the group stage of the UEFA Intertoto Cup in their only match against Örebro 23 years ago. However, the same applies to Stockholm, where the record is also negative with a 1-1 and 1-0 win against Primorye in 1997 in the first round of the similarly adjusted UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
Maribor vs Solna Betting Tips and Predictions Analzyed
Maribor belongs due to the dominance in Slovenia to the regulars in the qualification for the Champions League and already three times this was successfully mastered. At home, Maribor was hardly beaten in qualifying as well. So it must look back to the year 2013, to discover a home defeat against Viktoria Pilsen. Since then ten wins and four draws followed. With newly-signing Rok Kronaveter and the best scorer in the history of the Slovenian league, Brazilian Marcos Tavares, Maribor also has two dangerous offensive players. Luka Zahovic, the top scorer of the Prva Liga in the last two years, is usually included in this list, but currently the 23-year-old is still recovering from an injury, which is why he probably will not play.
Stockholm will again be very defensive and want to postpone the decision in the light of their own home strength on the second leg. In the past season the Swedes lost a single home game in the Allsvenskan and in the current season, the balance is again very positive with 7-2-1.
Key Facts – Maribor vs Solna tips
Maribor survived the first round without any problems against Valur Reykjavik
Solna had a hard time defeating Armenian champions FC Ararat-Armenia
The duel is a premiere
As mentioned, the defense has been very confident in their away games in qualifying for the Europa League in recent years, and the recent Yerevan goals have been an exception, with only Panathinaikos (0-2) in their previous ten appearances in 2016 conceded a goal and scored twice more than three goals. With Maribor against Solna, the odds of 2.15 are twice the chance of the hosts and aim to score a maximum of two goals. For the latter prediction speaks not only the scorching European score of the guests, but also the yield on the part of the home side. No less than the last 18 qualifying home games ended with a maximum of two goals as a result!
Bet Tip: Maribor 1X and under 2.5 goals
Odds: 2.15
