Linfield v Shelbourne Predictions, Lineups & Betting Tips

Match Details: July 16, 2025 | Windsor Park | UEFA Champions League 1st round qualifier, 2nd leg | 7:45 GMT

League of Ireland Champions Shelbourne head north to Belfast with a slender one goal lead in this All-Island Champions League tie. The Reds utterly dominated the Northern Irish Champions at Tolka Park last week but will be frustrated not to be heading to Windsor Park with a more comfortable lead.

Linfield, who are currently out of season, were clearly lacking in match sharpness last week, but even with that in mind, they struggled to make any kind of an impact in a first-leg tie away to a Shels team who had been struggling to hit the highs of last year.

Key Betting Tip: Under 3.5 goals @1.25 (Coral)

Linfield v Shelbourne Predicted Lineups

Linfield: Christopher Patrick Adam Johns; Matthew Orr, Scott Van der Sluis, Ben Hall, Dane Neil McCullough; Ethan McGee, Joshua Archer, Lorcan Forde; Kirk Steven Millar, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Callumn Morrison.

This was Linfield's starting XI last week. Expect Chris Shields, a League of Ireland legend from his Dundalk days, to come in to the midfield having sat out the first leg through suspension.

Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Mark Coyle, Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge; Evan Caffrey, JJ Lunney, Kerr McInroy, James Norris; Harry Wood, Ali Coote, Mipo Odubeko.

The big question from a Shelbourne perspective is do they start striker Sean Boyd after his impact off the bench last week or hold him back in reserve as a potential game changer again?

Linfield v Shelbourne Current League Standings

Shelbourne did not play a league game last weekend but their most recent league assignment ended in victory against the league's bottom side Cork City. That win took the Champions onto 35 points for the season, a whole 14 points off the top. A league high 11 draws from 25 matches has been costly but it does illustrate that the Reds are still hard to beat, only two teams have lost fewer matches.

Linfield are out of season but were beaten in the Northern Irish community shield by cup winners Dungannon Swifts before their defeat in Dublin last week.

Linfield v Shelbourne Head-to-Head Timeline

09/07/25 Shelbourne 1-0 Linfield (UCL qualifier 1st leg) 20/03/06 Shelbourne 0-0 Linfield (Setanta Sports Cup) 13/03/06 Linfield 2-0 Shelbourne (Setanta Sports Cup) 21/05/05 Shelbourne 0-2 Linfield (Setanta Sports Cup - Final)

Linfield shade the H2H stakes but last week's first-leg encounter was the first meeting of the sides in almost twenty years so it isn't worth reading in to.

**Linfield Last 5 Matches: ** Shelbourne 1-0 Linfield (UCL qualifier 1st leg) Newbuildings 1-7 Linfield (Friendly) Linfield 0-0 Dungannon Swifts (Community Shield Final - Dungannon won on penslties) Linfield 4-0 Harverfordwest (Friendly) Coleraine 1-0 Linfield (Northern Irish Premiership)

**Shelbourne Last 5 Matches: ** Shelbourne 1-0 Linfield (UCL qualifier 1st leg) Shelbourne 3-0 Cork City (League of Ireland Premier Division) Galway 1-1 Shelbourne (LOI PD) Shelbourne 0-1 Derry City (LOI PD) St.Patrick's Athletic 0-1 Shelbourne (LOI PD)

One can not underplay how big of an advantage it was last week for Shelbourne to be a team in the middle of their season while Linfield have been playing low quality opposition in friendlies. The question is, how much will Linfield come on for their first truely conpetitive game of the season last week?

Linfield v Shelbourne Predictions

Shelbourne had 59% possesion and 18 shots to Linfield's four in the first-leg. Their inability to turn that dominance into goals was no great surprise as the Reds have looked blunt up top in the league this season.

Linfield defended bravely but showed little to no quality on the ball and home advantage may not change that with Shelbourne likely to enjoy the bigger pitch and better playing surface at the home of Northern Ireland.

This appeals as being a low scoring affair.

Best Linfiield v Shelbourne Betting tips

Football Park’s Best Bet: Under 3.5 goals @ 1.25 (Coral)

Key Players to Watch: Linfield v Shelbourne

Harry Wood, Mipo Odubeko and Ali Coote are Shelbourne's most threatning attacking options.

Linfield will welcome back the energy of Chris Shields in the midfield.

Linfield v Shelbourne Match Facts:

Referee- Andrew Madley (England)

Broadcast Details:

UK- BBC NI ROI-SolidSports

Stadium Information: Windsor Park, Belfast, the home of the Northern Ireland national team with a capacity of 18,500.