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Aron Wright - July 3, 2018
Gzira United vs Sant Julia
UEFA Europa League Preliminary Round 2018/19
Date: Thursday, 5 July 2018
Kick-Off at 18:00 UK / 19:00 CET
Venue: MFA Centenary Stadium, Ta’Qali.
Gzira United made a dream debut in the Europa League as they went past Andorran Sant Julia 0-2 on the road to celebrate a victory in the inaugural match in the competition.
They are expected to confirm the first leg victory and complete the advancement into the first qualifying round on Thursday when the Andorran outfit are to visit Ta’Qali for the reverse fixture of this preliminary round tie.
Amadou Samb scored the first goal in the competition last Tuesday when he converted the penalty-kick to push the Maltese squad ahead 20 minutes into the game.
Sant Julia could have gotten back into the contest just before the break, but their key man Joel Mendez failed to score from the spot.
Substitute Jorginho only made it worse for the Jesus Barron Tellez’s troops seven minutes from time when he doubled Gzira’s lead to help the Maltese outfit bring a two-goal cushion into the second leg on their soil.
The match played nine days ago in Santa Coloma was the first ever between these two teams.
Gzira United were mainly in control and they deservedly picked up the victory, but Sant Julia could have also netted at least one from what we had seen.
Sant Julia are yet to score a goal in Europa League where they have a devastating record of 1 win and as many as 14 defeats over the course of history. Their defensive line was anything but reliable in the finish of the season in the elite class of the Andorran football, meaning it’s really hard to go past the home win pick here.
The visitors shipped at least a goal in seven of last eight games in all competitions and they will up against an outfit who’ve enjoyed a pretty strong finish to the campaign in their domestic league. Gzira proved quality over the Andorran opposition in the first leg and we see the home win as a genuine banker at the 1.50 odds here.
Gzira United to win @ 1.50
Gzira United -1.5 handicap @ 2.25.
