JK Nomme Kalju
- Across all competitions, Kalju's form reads four wins, three draws and three defeats in their last 10, which is solid enough to edge a European qualifier and give them the home edge.
- His side press and play on the front foot, switching play and moving the ball quickly to try to disorganise their opponents.
- Their recent results:
- a 1-1 draw at home to Paide Linnameeskond
- a 3-1 away win at JK Nomme United
Linfield FC
- Linfield will need to defend deep and hit back with all their might if they are to avoid defeat in thisfirst legof their Conference League qualification game against JK Nomme Kalju on Thursday.
- David Healy's side have struggled recently, winning just one of their last five, and they arrive in Estonia having lost four on the spin.
- Their last two results have been:
- a 2-1 home defeat to Cliftonville
- a 3-2 home loss to Kilmarnock, leaving their confidence fragile for this clash.
- Linfield are a compact, hard-to-crack unit, so we don't expect Healy's men to do much to start the game, but to try to soak up pressure before counterpunching.
Key Players
Kyle McClean is the only player in the Linfield ranks that we would really want on our side, with the midfielder having two goals in his last five and 40% of the Blues' total of five goals over that period.
Betting Insights
- JK Nomme Kalju are undervalued by the bookmakers, who offer no better than 1.84 on the hosts in this UEFA Conference League qualification play-off
- Linfield FC are out at 3.8 and the draw is available at 3.6.
- Kalju have avoided defeat in four of their last five, while Linfield have won just one and lost four of their previous five games.
Prediction
- But Linfield are a disciplined side that know how to defend in numbers and play well on the counter-attack.
- So, a Kalju win with under 3.5 goals looks a good fit for this matchup, with the Estonian side likely to control possession and Linfield looking to counter-attack.
