Shkendija – Kalju Prediction & Picks (16.07.2019)

champions-league

Shkendija – Kalju SOCCER PICKS

International football is back – last week’s first qualifying round first leg was on the program. Not only absolute no-name teams are in action, but also one or the other well-known club has to fight for the international whereabouts. There are also plenty of no-name teams. One of these duels is the clash between Shkendija Tetovo and Nomme Kalju – the duel between the North Macedonian and the Estonian champions.

For the winner in this duel waiting for a real treat, because then finally a trip to the world famous Celtic Park on the program. The Scottish champion won the first leg against FK Sarajevo away 3-1 and will be almost without any bounds for the second round. There it then comes to a duel with the winner of this game. The trend is clearly in the direction of the North Macedonian master from Tetovo. The game starts at 7 pm on the early Tuesday evening.

Shkendiya Tetovo:

The team from Northern Macedonia has become a regular in qualifying for international competitions. However, the triple champion still has to wait for the debut in a group stage. Last year, the North Macedonians failed in the third qualifying round for the premier class at the Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg (overall score 0: 4) and then had to give up in the Europa League qualifier Rosenborg Trondheim (total score 1: 5) beaten. Also in previous years mostly renowned teams (KRC Genk, AC Milan) were one size too big for the red-whites from Northern Macedonia.

The title in the domestic championship could defend Shkendija sovereign and had finally 15 points clear of Vardar Skopje. The domestic championship will start in just under four weeks. Thus, the team of head coach Qatip Osmani is in the middle of preparation. Although the club officials managed to keep the tribe of the team together, it does not go according to plan in the previous preparation. In the friendlies only two goals could be achieved. The offensive last year was still the showpiece; Shkendija Tetovo scored 80 goals on the way to the title. It is striking that many goals are scored, especially in home games (52 home goals, 28 away goals).

Nomme Kalju:

In the calendar year 2018, the FC Nomme Kalju fixed for the second time in club history the championship title. However, a successful title defense this season is by no means realistic. In the all-season championship, the reigning champion is only disappointing in fourth place after 19 laps, and is already ten points behind leaders FC Flora Tallinn.

Master coach Sergey Frantsev had to vacate his chair after seven match days. The season started with three wins, two draws and two defeats completely in the pants. Since then, 40-year-old Ukrainian Roman Kozhukhovskyi has been in charge of the Estonians, who previously served as head coach in the Nomme Kalju U21. There has not been another defeat in the league since then, but with four draws in twelve league games the catch-up is not going as desired. In addition, there was a bitter defeat in the final of the cup competition against JK Trans Narva (1: 2).

Last week’s performance was quite appealing and the defeat can be classified as “unlucky”. However, this prolonged the weak results of the last week. For the third time in a row, the Estonian champion was without success. A victory in northern Macedonia would certainly be a sensation, because the difference in quality can not be denied. In addition, travel outside Estonia is rarely successful. In the recent past, they only won against B36 Torshavn (Faroe Islands), FK Aktobe (Kazakhstan) or Fram Reykjavik (Iceland).


© Andrey