Qarabag v Shelbourne, Lineups & Betting Tips Predictions

Qarabag v Shelbourne, Lineups & Betting Tips

Match Details: July 30 |Tofiq Bahramov Stadium | UEFA Champions League Second Round Qualifier Second Leg | 17:00 GMT

As predicted in one of last week's ACCA's here at FootballPark, Qarabag proved to be far too great a step up in class for a Shelbourne team who hadn't set the world alight when eliminating Linfield in round one. The Reds needed to make the most of home advantage in the first leg of this tie to have any chance of causing an upset but the Irish club were rolled over 0-3 at Tolka Park by Qarabag.

The champions of Azerbaijan fielded a starting XI consisting of four Brazilians, a Croatian and Frenchman last week, this speaks to the difference in financial resources between the sides with Shelbourne's starting lineup featuring just three overseas players, all of whom were British.

With a huge test now awaiting Shelbourne when they drop into the Europa League qualifiers, they will face either Rijeka (Croatia) or Ludogorets (Bulgaria), and with league and cup duties still to be attended to, they could really do with the 4,000km trip to Azerbaijan for a dead-rubber second leg.

**Key Betting Tip: Qarabag to win to nil @ 1.83 (BetFred). **

Qarabag v Shelbourne Predicted Lineups

Qarabag Predicted XI: abijan Buntic; Dani Bolt, Bahlul Mustafazade, Matheus Silva, Tural Bayramov; Pedro Bicahlo, Kady, Emmanuel Addai; Leandro Andrade, Nariman, Akhundzade, Abdellah Zoubir.

Despite the fact this tie is as good as over, this is a good opportunity for Qarabag to continue to build their match practice as they are out of season, so expect a strong XI once more.

Shelbourne Predicted XI: Lorcan Healy; Mark Coyle, Sam Bone, Kameron Ledwidge, James Norris, John O'Sullivan, JJ Lunney, Ellis Chapman; John Martin, Daniel Kelly, Mipo Odubeko.

With this tie as good as over, expect Joey O'Brien to rotate with the upcoming Europa League qualifier in mind.

Qarabag v Shelbourne Current League Standings

Qarabag's league season isn't yet up and running but they won the league in decisive fashion last term, finishing 15 points clear of the second-placed team and a massive 31 points clear of third. Of their 36 league games, they lost just three times, winning 28 matches. Qarabag conceded a league low tally of 19 goals.

Shelbourne, who won the League of Ireland in 2024, have endured a huge drop off this season. The Reds sit fifth in a ten-team division and are pretty much out of contention to retain their title, being a whole 14 points off the top. Shels have won just eight of 25 matches this season and have scored just 30 times.

Qarabag v Shelbourne Head-to-Head Timeline

Shelbourne 0-3 Qarabag (UCL qualifier)

While that was Qarabag's first ever meeting with Shelbourne, they have experience against other Irish sides having eliminated Dundalk from the UCL qualifiers in 2019 (Drew 1-1 away, won 3-0 at home).

Recent Head-to-Head Results:

23/07/25 Shelbourne 0-3 Qarabag

Qarabag came out of the traps flying with an early goal from Leandro Andrade and while Shelbourne did rally in the second half they never really threatned and were caught out at the back with late goals from Kashchuk and Akhundzade.

**Qarabag Last 5 Matches **

Shelbourne 0-3 Qarabag (UCL)

RB Salzburg 2-1 Qarabag (Fri)

FC Twente 2-1 Qarabag (Fri)

FC Twente 2-3 Qarabag (Fri)

Qarabag 4-5 Metalist 1925 (Fri)

Qarabag have been playing some fairly decent opposition in friendlies and that prep appeared to pay off in Dublin last week.

Shelbourne Last 5 Matches

Shelbourne 0-3 Qarabag (UCL)

Fairview Rangers 0-4 Shelbourne (FAI Cup)

Linfield 1-1 Shelbourne (UCL)

Shelbourne 1-0 Linfield (UCL)

Shelbourne 3-1 Cork City (LOI)

While Wednesday's defeat to Qarabag was Joey O'Brien's first since taking over from Damien Duff, Shelbourne had a lot of fortune with the run of fixtures before the first leg. The Irish champions needed late goals to kill off ten-man Cork City, who are bottom of the league, while they scraped past a poor Linfield side in the first round of this competition. A 0-4 win in the FAI Cup came against non-league opposition before being hammered by Qarabag.

Qarabag v Shelbourne Predictions

Shelbourne will just want to keep the scoreline respectable and not pick up any injuries or silly suspensions before their next European assignment. With a tough game awaiting them in the Europa League, Shelbourne may already be starting to think about potential play-off opponents in the Conference League.

Qarabag looked sharp for a team out of season last week and will want to keep the momentum up with bigger tests to come. Qarabag should win this and comfortably.

Qarabag v Shelbourne Betting Tips

Football Park’s Best Bet: Qarabag to win to nil @1.83 (Betfred)

Key Players to Watch: Qarabag v Shelbourne

Qarabag captain Abdellah Zoubir lit up the the first leg in Dublin last week. His quick dribbling and incisive passing was a nightmare for the Shels defence who had little way of dealing with Zoubir other than kicking him. With even more space and possesion likely to come his way in the return tie, he should be high on your shortlist of goalscorers.

Shelbourne are without first choice goalkeeper Conor Kearns through injury. They have signed a keeper on loan from the MLS but he wasn't eligble for the first leg. As a result, Lorcan Healy is likely to start between the posts again. He's looked very nervy anytime he's filled in for Kearns this season and the former UCD keeper could be in for a long night at the office.

Qarabag v Shelbourne Match Facts

Referee: N/A

Broadcast Details: N/A

Stadium Information: The Tofiq Bahramov Stadium is the national stadium of Azerbajin. It is not Qarabag's home ground but due to UEFA requirements it is where they play their home games in Europe. The capacity is 31,200, although the record attendance is 50,000, which was set in 1960 for a Galatasary match.

Aside from sporting uses, several concerts have been held at Tofiq Bahramov, with such big names as Shakira, Elton John, Jennifer Lopez playing there.