TNS vs Decic Prediction 09.07.2024

• Competition: UEFA Champions League Qualifying - First round 1st leg
• Date: Tuesday, 9th, July 2024
• Kickoff: 19:00 UK/20.00 CEST
• Venue: Park Hall (Oswestry)

The New Saints will aim to gain an advantage when they host Montenegrin champions Decic at Park Hall for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers on Tuesday.

TNS continued their reign over Welsh football, as their 2023-24 campaign was nothing short of spectacular, as they won the league title with an astonishing 33-point margin, scraping together 30 wins and drawing twice. Over the past two season, the Welsh giants have been knocked down at the first hurdle of qualification, but this time they will strive to break that infamous trend by leveraging a strong preparatory period, having won six out of their eight warm-up matches.

Tuesday's contest marks the debut appearance in Europe's top club competition for FK Decic, a side that stunned everyone by winning the Montenegrin championship title for the first time in their history last season, even though they were unable to use their home ground due to renovations. Nonetheless, the Blues might feel a tinge of anxiety given their previous forays into UEFA competitions have yielded little joy, suffering a 1-3 aggregate defeat to FC Drita in the 2021-22 season before being knocked out by Dinamo Minsk (2-3) last season.

TNS vs Decic Betting Tips : UNDER 2.5

As Tuesday's contest marks the first official match of the new 2024-25 campaign, we anticipate both sides will adopt a cautious defensive approach in an effort to avoid any early season hiccups. Moreover, FK Decic failed to garner much-needed confidence during their preparations, not only losing all three friendlies to Serbian clubs OFK Beograd, Spartak Subotica, and Vojvodina but also remaining scoreless in all of those. Based on their unconvincing finishing touch and staunch defense, the Montenegrin champions have often found themselves embroiled in low-scoring affairs, as evidenced by the fact that 12 out of their last 15 matches in any format have produced no more than two goals. 

Before heading to Wales, the Tuzi-based club will be sizing up their prospects for a favorable outcome in the first leg, aware that TNS have had difficulties honing their winning formula in UEFA tournaments, securing just one win in their past eight European outings, and failing to unlock their rivals' defense in half of those. Even with the comfort of playing in front of their home crowd, we doubt The New Saints' ability to come out on top, as FK Decic posses all the tools needed to at least remain unbeaten in what promises to be a cautiously contested match.