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Champions League qualifiers tips: Shamrock Rovers, Ferencvaros and Rakow Czestochowa to start strong

Irish club Shamrock Rovers

Planet Sport takes a closer look at the opening round of the 2023/24 Champions League qualifiers.

The road to Wembley starts here as the first qualifying round for the new Champions League season officially gets underway. 

There are 30 clubs in action in the opening round, with 20 of them beginning their campaigns on Tuesday night.

Here, Planet Sport picks out the top five tips for our Tuesday night European accumulator.

Shamrock Rovers (IRE) vs Breidablik (ICE)

Shamrock Rovers got a big taste of European football after qualifying for the Europa Conference League group stage last season.

Despite picking up just two points from six games and finishing bottom of their group, this was valuable experience for a club which previously qualified for a group stage of a major European competition in 2011.

Luck of the Irish may not be enough for Rovers to bag a Champions League spot this season, however they will be intent on making it to the second round at the very least.
The Hoops welcome Iceland's Breidablik to the Tallaght Stadium - a ground which has served the hosts well in recent weeks.
Rovers have won six of their last seven home games and haven't conceded a goal in over 270 minutes.

With that in mind, we're backing the Irish outfit to prevail in this opening leg.

Lincoln (GIB) vs Qarabag FK (AZE)

Qarabag FK are arguably the strongest club who are participating in the first qualifying round.
The Azerbaijan champions are regulars in European competitions and have made the group stages of one of the three major UEFA competitions for nine years straight.
Qarabag's last Champions League group stage appearance took place back in 2017/18. The club missed out on a return to the big-time last season after losing to Viktoria Plzen in the qualifying play-off round.
Gurban Gurbanov's side kick off this year's campaign against Gibraltar's Lincoln - a side they're expected to beat comfortably.

Our recommendation is to back the Azerbaijan outfit in the outright market. 

Rakow Czestochowa (POL) vs Flora (EST)

In 25 years, Polish football has only been represented in the Champions League group stage one time. That honour fell to Legia Warsaw who famously lost 8-4 to Borussia Dortmund during the 2016/17 campaign.
Rakow Czestochowa will fly the flag for Poland in this year's qualifying campaign after claiming their first ever league title.
The Poles are heavy favourites against Estonian outfit FC Flora - a side who are currently involved in an enthralling domestic title battle.
While Flora are in the midst of their season, for Rakow this will be their first competitive outing of the season.

Nevertheless, the Polish outfit have enough quality to come out on top - especially at home.

FC Ballkani (KOS) vs Ludogorets (BUL)

Ludogorets enjoyed a memorable run in the Europa League last season as they picked up a group stage win over Jose Mourinho's AS Roma.
The Bulgarian champions ended up making the knockout stages before being edged by Anderlecht on penalties.
The Eagles are growing from strength to strength, and they are expected to progress past FC Ballkani in their Champions League qualifier.

While the Kosovo side are capable of causing some problems, Ludogorets should have too much quality and we're backing them to win.

Klaksvik (FAI) vs Ferencvaros (HUN)

Ferencvaros will be looking to make a statement when they travel to the Faroe Islands to take on Klaksvik.
The Hungarian outfit qualified for the Champions League group stages three seasons ago and they're intent on returning to the big time.
Getting through the opening round shouldn't be a problem for The Greens who cruised to the league title last season.

We're backing the visitors to get the job done with goals to spare. 

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