CONFERENCE LEAGUE BETTING PREVIEW - SHELBOURNE VS LINFIELD

Conference League

2025-08-21 - Shelbourne vs Linfield

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Shelbourne v Linfield
Football: UEFA Conference League Play Off Round First Leg
Thursday 21st August 2025 - Kick Off 7:45pm

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Preview

Six weeks ago, the Northern Irish and Irish Champions faced off in the First Qualifying Round of the Champions League and they meet for a second time in UEFA settings, but with a grander prize on the line.

It was Shelbourne who narrowly got the better of Linfield in the Champions League tie with a 2-1 win on aggregate, and the two clubs have been through differing routes to eventually meet again in the Conference League Play Off Round.

Make no mistake, the opportunity to play in the Group Stage of this competition is one that the likes of Shelbourne and Linfield will massively appreciate and so there is more than bragging rights on the line. When they met in the Champions League, the reality was that neither club could really have foreseen winning enough football matches to make it through to the Group Stage of that competition, and so getting one over on the other was perhaps the biggest motivation, but that will not be the case over the next seven days.

The likes of Larne and Shamrock Rovers have shown clubs from both sides of the Irish border that it is possible to have enough quality to reach the Group Stage of either of the two competitions below the Champions League. This is also a motivation for the players involved as Shelbourne and Linfield prepare to meet again.

After beating Linfield, Shelbourne have suffered European losses to Qarabag and Rijeka to drop down into the Conference League. They did win in Croatia against Rijeka before losing 1-3 at home and that does mean Shelbourne have conceded three times in back to back home European defeats.

Shelbourne have recorded 2 wins in the last 7 games played in all competitions and they are in the midst of a season which will feel underwhelming after the success of the last campaign. However, they will feel this is a step down in terms of level of opponent compared with the previous two European clubs faced, although Shelbourne will have a lot of respect for Linfield having played them already.

The Irish Champions could afford those European losses to drop down the levels in UEFA competition, but Linfield have been under pressure since losing in the Champions League and being placed in the Conference League immediately.

All credit has to be given to Linfield for beating Zalgiris and Vikungur Geta, two Champions of their respective nations who have been used to winning football matches. In both of those ties, Linfield were able to win Second Legs at home to progress, including turning around a loss in the Faroe Islands to beat Vikingur Geta in the last Round.

Linfield will be favourites to retain the Northern Irish title and they have begun their domestic season with a big home win. The Football Association are also trying to give Linfield as much help as possible by postponing the second League fixture so they have a full week to prepare for this First Leg.

The home team dominated when Shelbourne hosted Linfield in the Champions League last month, but the latter were resilient in the 1-0 defeat.

Prediction

When these teams met last month, it was tipped up here that Shelbourne could make home advantage count.

They are not odds against to do that this time, but Shelbourne could still be worth backing, even if Linfield have plenty of momentum behind them.

Winning ties will give Linfield belief, but they were beaten at Vikingur Geta in the last Round and another narrow defeat feels the most likely outcome of this match.

Shelbourne have lost their last 2 European ties, but those were against much stronger clubs than Linfield and the Irish Champions can produce a result which gives them something to hold onto next week.

The Pick :

Shelbourne 1-0 Linfield

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Shelbourne to Win at 1.95 with SportBet.One