Penybont v FC Santa Coloma

Penybont vs Santa Coloma Preview

The 1st legs of the 1st Qualifying Round of the Europa Conference League continue on Thursday evening and features this upcoming clash between Welsh hosts, Penybont, and Andorran counterparts, Santa Coloma, at the SDM Glass Stadium with the hosts making their first ever appearance on the European stage.

Penybont were only promoted to the Welsh top tier a couple of season ago but having achieved a third place finish in the second phase of the domestic Premier League at the end of the Championship Round, the hosts will now embark upon a new chapter in their history and in Europe for the first time.

The Welsh hosts signed off last season with a 2-1 home win against Newtown but they have since played two club friendlies ahead of Thursday night's important 1st leg tie; a 2-0 defeat away from home at English Championship side, Cardiff City, was followed by a morale-boosting 1-0 home win against Haverfordwest County, so Penybont will be in reasonably confident mood ahead of their big night.

Santa Coloma also achieved a third place finish in the Andorran 1a Divisio at the end of last season thus guaranteeing the visitors with a place in the 1st Qualifying Round of this competition and they'll be hoping to produce a better performance than the last time they appeared in the Europa Conference League.

Despite beating Gibraltar outfit, Mons Calpe, in the 1st Qualifying Round a couple of seasons ago, the visitors were then handed a heavy 5-1 defeat on aggregate by Scottish Premiership side, Hibernian, so they will be hoping to at least hold their own against European debutants, Penybont, on Thursday evening.

Santa Coloma will head into this important opening leg on the back of two defeats on the trot though following defeats at the end of last season's campaign to Penya Encarnada in the 1a Divisio along with a domestic cup 2-1 loss in the final to Inter Club d'Escaldes, so the visitors may not be in the best frame of mind here.

Penybont v Santa Coloma Verdict

Penybont have lost just twice in their last 11 home matches on the domestic front in the Welsh Premier League where they've also picked up seven wins in the process, while Santa Coloma also boast a solid record away from home in the Andorran top flight, losing just twice in their previous 22 outings on their travels.

This fixture could therefore be a tightly fought duel but with home advantage in this 1st leg, Penybont may just sneak a narrow lead to take into next week's return leg in Andorra La Vella.

Therefore, our main bet will be Penybont win @ 1.85

Other side bets worth considering:

Penybont win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.87

Correct score: Penybont 2-1 @ 9.00