Qarabag FK v Sheriff Tiraspol Betting Tips: Home side to come out on top in high scoring encounter

This Champions League qualifying match is an all-Eastern European affair as Qarabag of Azerbaijan take on Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova.

Qarabag came through their previous qualifier against Samtredia of Georgia with ease as they ran out 6-0 aggregate winners. Last season they won the Azeri league at a canter, finishing top of the table with a ten-point gap over Gabala in second and, although it has not started yet, they are the favourites to win the title this time around as well.

As mentioned in my winning tip for their last match against Samtredia, Gurban Gurbanov’s side have had little trouble in finding the back of the net in recent months and, prior to their 1-0 win against Samtredia last time out, they had scored over 1.5 goals in each of their last five competitive matches. They have also been excellent at the back with three clean sheets in their last three competitive outings.

The Horsemen have been fantastic at home for all of 2017 with just one defeat in all competitions this calendar year. Furthermore, they have won their last three outings at Azersun Arena, scoring nine times and conceding just once. In terms of the Champions League, they also have a brilliant record on their own patch with no defeats in their entire history.

Sheriff are making a bit of a hash of their domestic title defence at the moment as they are currently down in fourth with just five points taken from a possible nine. Additionally, they just about came through their last Champions League qualifer against Albanian side Kukesi – winning the tie on goal difference.

The Moldovan champions were fantastic in both boxes last season with 71 goals scored and just 15 conceded – the best and second-best records in the division respectively. However, they have had a few problems at the back at the start of this season with no clean sheets and five goals against in their last three outings. This is undoubtedly the main reason behind the bad start to their title defence.

Despite this bad form, going into this match, Roberto Bordin’s Sheriff side will take confidence from the fact they have been excellent on their travels in the Divizia Nationala in 2017 with no defeats this calendar year. This includes six clean sheets in their last seven away games in the league. However, it has been a different story in the Champions League with Sheriff losing their last three matches on the road. Having said that, it is worth noting that they have scored in each of those three games.

Qarabag are the favourites here and rightly so given their home record. However, Sheriff are capable of scoring a couple of goals, particularly away from home, so the Azeri side will have to make sure they are on their game here. Overall though, I am expecting a home win with a few goals, perhaps for both sides, so I think Qarabag to Win and Over 1.5 Goals Total at a profitable 11/10 is a good shout.