Conference League
2025-08-07 - St Patricks Athletic vs Besiktas
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: UEFA Conference League Third Qualifying Round First Leg
Thursday 7th August 2025 - Kick Off 7:45pm
Preview
There is work to do if St Patrick's Athletic are going to earn a spot in Europe for the fifth consecutive year, but they are still in touch domestically and making a real go of trying to progress to the League Phase in the Conference League this time around. In years prior, clubs operating out of the Republic of Ireland may not have expected to have long runs in European competition, but St Patrick's Athletic reached the Play Off Round in the Conference League twelve months ago.
They begun in the Second Qualifying Round in 2024/25 and so had to win two ties to earn a spot in the Play Off Round, while St Patrick's will have picked up plenty of confidence having already won two ties in this competition just last month.
The run ended at the hands of a club from Istanbul last season and St Patrick's Athletic have been given a very tough draw against another this time around.
It was Istanbul Basaksehir who got the better of St Patrick's Athletic last season, although the tie finished 2-0 on aggregate, and it is Besiktas who stand in their way in August 2025.
The latter were eliminated from the Europa League last week when Shakhtar Donetsk completed a very comfortable 6-2 aggregate success and that leaves little room for error as far as Besiktas' hopes of reaching the Group Stages of any UEFA competition are concerned. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have been expecting his team to work their way back into the Europa League so there is some disappointment to shake off, but this is a considerable step below the level that Besiktas were facing last week.
Besiktas have won 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions and there is pressure on the manager to get the team operating closer to rivals Fenerbahce and Galatasaray. The top two were at least 22 points better than Besiktas last season and the team are looking to bounce back this week having seen their 5 away game unbeaten run ended in the defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk on neutral field.
They have all of the qualities to beat St Patrick's Athletic, although the hosts are unbeaten in 5 home European games and have won 4 of those. St Patrick's Athletic have won 5 of their last 6 games in all competitions overall, while they have won 3 in a row at home.
Of course they are not accustomed to facing a team like Besiktas, but the performances against Istanbul Basaksehir have to offer encouragement as St Patrick's Athletic prepare to face another team from Turkiye.
Prediction
On paper, Besiktas should make relatively comfortable work of getting past St Patrick's Athletic, but the First Leg hosted by the latter may not be as easy as the layers think.
Over the last thirteen months, St Patrick's Athletic have played with confidence when hosting European opponents and the draw with Istanbul Basaksehir will certainly give the squad plenty of reason to believe they can upset the odds.
Besiktas were well beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk in the Europa League Qualifying Rounds, but they should still believe they can win this tie. Even if they are not leading after the First Leg, hosting back in Istanbul will give Besiktas a serious advantage and so they may not feel under immense pressure here.
They should still win, but St Patrick's Athletic are likely to make this tough for the visiting team and having a big start on the Asian Handicap makes the hosts worthy of some support.
The Pick :
St Patrick's Athletic 0-1 Besiktas
