Celje vs Flora Prediction: Slovenians to underline gulf in class

Slovenian champions Celje will expect to deliver another big victory when they welcome Estonian outfit Flora to the Stadion Z'dezele for the second leg of their Champions League first-qualifying round tie on Tuesday (kick-off 18:00 BST).

Celje already have more than one foot in the next round after they claimed a resounding 5-0 victory in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, during last week's first leg when the gulf between the two teams was clear to see. Flora have since parted ways with head coach Norbert Hurt, but it appears they will be playing for little more than pride when they travel to Slovenia. Read on for my Celje vs Flora prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Given his side's massive advantage in the tie, Celje manager Damir Krznar could opt to rest several of his first-team regulars, including right-back Zan Karnicnik, who featured in last week's first leg just days after helping Slovenia to the knockout stages of Euro 2024.

Summer signings Matija Kavcic and Ivan Brnic were unused substitutes in Tallinn but could be handed their competitive debuts in this return leg, while former Newcastle ace Rolando Aarons came off the bench to score last week and may now be rewarded with a start.

Under-21st coach Taavi Viik has been placed in temporary charge of Flora following Hurt's departure and he may look to make changes, including bringing in Marco Lukka to the heart of his defence.

Celje vs Flora Odds

Celje are the overwhelming favourites to win this match at 1/10, while a shock Flora success is available at 14/1, and the draw is 13/2.

A repeat of last week's 5-0 victory for Celje is available at 12/1, while it is 4/7 that the hosts once again claim the spoils without conceding a goal.

Celje -3 @ 23/10

Celje eased to just their second Slovenian PrvaLiga title last season, finishing 12 points clear of nearest rivals Maribor and losing only five of their 36 games.

Grofje only lost one of their final 10 home matches during 2023/24, winning seven of those games, and even if former Croatia international Krznar opts to rotate his line-up for this game, they should have more than enough quality to blow away a Flora team seemingly in disarray.

Flora won a record 15th Estonian title in 2023, but the defence of their crown has been underwhelming to say the least, as they sit 15 points behind leaders Levadia having won only half of their 20 league games this calendar year.

Their 5-0 thrashing in last week's first leg brought Hurt's second spell in charge to an end and a demoralised Flora side that have won just one of their last five games across all competitions are liable to suffer another heavy defeat.

Celje to win both halves @ 19/20

Celje were 3-0 up before half-time last week, and they showed no signs of letting up after the break, as they added two further strikes before Flora were put out of their misery.

The Slovenians will want to make a strong start on Tuesday to avoid giving their opponents any hope, and it is easy to envisage them taking an early lead.

From there, it is difficult to see any road back for Flora and Celje could add further goals and are certainly capable of winning both halves, as they look to build more confidence ahead of a potential tie with either Slovan Bratislava or Struga in the second-qualifying round.

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