SK Brann v St Mirren

Brann vs St Mirren Preview

Norwegian hosts, Brann, may feel they have done most of the hard work by holding their Scottish counterparts, St Mirren, to a 1-1 draw in last week's 1st leg and now Brann return to the more familiar surroundings of their Brann Stadion for this return leg where the hosts will be looking to put this 3rd qualifying round tie to bed, while St Mirren suffered a heavy 3-1 defeat away from home at Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on the weekend.

Brann bring a solid and sustained run of results into this decisive leg on Thursday night as the hosts have been dealt just one defeat in their previous 11 games in all competitions which came in the form of a particularly heavy 5-1 thrashing away from home at the hands of Bodo/Glimt in the Norwegian Eliteserien, but otherwise Eirik Horneland's side look well placed to gain a result here.

Five wins within these last 11 games should also give Brann a lift ahead of this 2nd leg tie especially as three of these five wins have been achieved on home soil at their Brann Stadion, while five of their last 10 games overall have also resulted in Over 2.5 goals being scored.

Indeed, six of Brann's last 10 home games have also produced three goals or more as well.

Goals were certainly on show on the weekend up in Scotland at Pittodrie as Aberdeen handed St Mirren a heavy 3-1 loss in the domestic Premiership and St Mirren now face another tough outing on the road in Norway on Thursday night as last week's home advantage ended in the scores being level at 1-1.

St Mirren had previously registered a 4-1 win on aggregate against Icelandic outfit Valur in the 2nd qualifying round but although The Saints have suffered just one defeat in their last nine games overall, this upcoming away fixture at Brann could cause Stephen Robinson's side more than just a few problems.

The domestic season has only just begun and St Mirren have made an indifferent start to the new season as they had previously recorded a 3-0 home win against Hibernian but then suffered the aforementioned loss at Aberdeen, while the bigger picture shows the Scottish visitors have managed to capture just five wins in their last 18 matches in all competitions.

However, six out of St Mirren's last 10 games overall have also produced three goals or more so we could see a few goals unfold at the Brann Stadion on Thursday night as a result.

Brann v St Mirren Verdict

There is still everything to play for in this return leg in Norway on Thursday night but Brann are expected to come out on top with a few goals into the bargain.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals @ 1.65

Other side bets worth considering:

Brann win & Over 2 goals @ 1.80

Correct Score: Brann 3-1 @ 12.00