Shamrock Rovers vs Celje Prediction: Greene to offset Kenny absence

Shamrock Rovers trail Slovenian outfit Celje 1-0 ahead of the second leg of their Europa League qualifier on Thursday (16:00 KO).

Read on for my Shamrock Rovers vs Celje prediction, as well as the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Johnny Kenny, Shamrock’s top scorer in Ireland’s top tier, has missed the last four games and is unlikely to be involved on Thursday.

Veteran midfielder Rory Gaffney is a long-term absentee and remains unavailable for the home side.

Celje forward Armandas Kucys was removed from the action at half-time in the first leg, but started and scored for the Slovenian side at the weekend and the Lithuanian should keep his place in the starting XI at Tallaght Stadium.

Shamrock Rovers vs Celje Odds

Rovers are the 15/8 underdogs to win Thursday’s game and 3/1 to win the tie.

A draw is 23/10 and Celje are 6/5 to win the game, with either result good enough for the visitors to win the tie after their 1-0 first leg success.

Both teams to score is on offer at 8/11 and over 2.5 goals is 10/11.

Shamrock Rovers to win (90 mins) @ 15/8

Shamrock have it all to do after defeat in Slovenia, but they can give themselves the best possible chance of progressing by winning the game on Thursday.

The Dublin outfit overcame Iceland’s Vikingur Reykjavik at Tallaght Stadium in Champions League qualifying before dropping into the Europa League.

Rovers aren’t necessarily enjoying the best season domestically, but they have been fairly solid at home, losing just two of their 12 Premier Division games at this venue.

Celje were deserved first leg winners, but it wasn’t necessarily a dominant performance and a 1-0 win for the hosts felt about right on the night.

The Slovenian side are far better at home than they are on the road, having won just one of their last five competitive away games, losing three.

The Counts went down 5-0 at Slovan Bratislava in their last away qualifier after a 1-1 draw in the first leg at their own ground.

That perhaps demonstrates how much stronger they are in Celje than they are on their travels and as underdogs with a deficit to recover Shamrock look backable.

Aaron Greene to score any time (90 mins) @ 2/1

The absence of Celtic loanee Kenny is a blow for Rovers, but they still have a few goal threats and Aaron Greene could be their danger man in this Europa League clash.

Greene has eight Premier Division goals to his name in 25 appearances this season and has enjoyed some success in the European qualification campaign.

The 34-year-old had a memorable night in Prague with two goals in a 4-2 loss to Sparta at the end of last month and can give his side a lifeline with a goal against Celje.

Offers

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