Shelbourne vs Qarabag: UEFA Champions League Prediction (24.07.2025)

On Wednesday, July 24 at 01:45 WIB, local football club Shelbourne will host Qarabag from Aghdam at Tolka Park Stadium in Dublin in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League 2025–2026 qualifying clash. The hosts are last season’s champions of Ireland and defeated Northern Irish side Linfield in the previous round of UCL qualification. The visitors, who once again claimed the Azerbaijan Premier League title in the 2024–2025 season, advanced to this stage of the European qualifiers as a result.

In the Shelbourne vs Qarabag matchup, bookmakers strongly favor the Azerbaijani club. Betting odds for a home win by the “Reds” in the first leg stand at 5.10, a draw at 4.20, and a Qarabag victory at 1.61. The over 2.5 goals total is priced at 1.74, indicating that experts expect a moderately high-scoring game. Both teams to score is offered at 1.78.

Shelbourne

Last year, the team reclaimed the Irish league trophy after a 19-year drought. However, the 2025 Irish league campaign hasn’t gone smoothly. Shelbourne currently sit fifth in the table, with only eight wins in 25 matches. They have scored just 30 goals while conceding 27. This form is far from title-contending and led to a coaching change. Damien Duff was replaced by Joey O’Brien as head coach. Under his leadership, Shelbourne faced Linfield from Belfast. Even against the modest Northern Irish side, the “Reds” failed to impress: they narrowly won 1–0 at home and held on for a 1–1 draw away, despite playing with a man advantage for half an hour in the second half.

Qarabag

The Aghdam club dominates Azerbaijani football. The “Horsemen” have won 11 of the last 12 league titles. Last year, under the guidance of Gurban Gurbanov, they qualified for the UEFA Europa League group stage. However, competing at that level proved too difficult — they finished in 36th place overall, with only three points and a goal difference of 6:20.

Qarabag approach the match against the Irish side having played several serious friendlies in early July, including matches against Metalist 1925, Twente, and RB Salzburg.

Stats and Head-to-Head Record

This will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides, taking place in the Irish capital.

Prediction

With all due respect to the hosts, these appear to be teams of different calibers. The Azerbaijanis are expected to advance to the next stage. The prediction is a Qarabag win at odds of 1.61.