This season will see the introduction of the Europa Conference League and the qualifying rounds begin on Thursday the 8th of July.
There are several fixtures to look forward to including the meeting between Dundalk and Newtown.
💻Our UEFA @EuropaConLeague first qualifying round first-leg tie with Newtown AFC will be streamed live on the #LOITV platform on Thursday.➡️A match pass costs just €10. Please note that this game is separate from the normal #LOITV subscription.https://t.co/st2WILcLan pic.twitter.com/yPmyfMKylX— Dundalk FC (@DundalkFC) July 6, 2021
💻Our UEFA @EuropaConLeague first qualifying round first-leg tie with Newtown AFC will be streamed live on the #LOITV platform on Thursday.➡️A match pass costs just €10. Please note that this game is separate from the normal #LOITV subscription.https://t.co/st2WILcLan pic.twitter.com/yPmyfMKylX
This is a tie between Irish and Welsh clubs, so there is little between them in terms of travelling distance and the first leg will be played at Oriel Park, giving Dundalk home advantage.
The Irish league season is already well underway and at the time of writing, Dundalk find themselves in 7th place in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
They are already 14 points adrift of Shamrock Rovers, who top the table and face an uphill battle to qualify for European football next season so will want to make the most of this opportunity.
Recent results highlight the inconsistency of Dundalk and they have won 2, lost 2, and drawn one of their last 5 league games.
Dundalk reached the group stages of the Europa League last season, which was a tremendous achievement.
They were drawn in a group containing Arsenal, Rapid Wien, and Molde and finished without a point to their name, having lost all 6 group fixtures. However, the experience will stand them in good stead for this fixture.
Since 2016, Dundalk have recorded wins over Maccabi Tel Aviv, FCI Levadia, and KÍ at home in European competition.
Newtown travel to Ireland having little time to prepare for the match. The 2020/21 Welsh Premier League season ended on the 29th of May, which is only just over a month ago, meaning the players have had a short time to rest ahead of the new campaign.
Newtown finished last season strongly, winning 3 of their final 4 fixtures, defeating Haverfordwest County, Penybont, and Caernarfon Town, all away from home.
The final victory, against Caernarfon Town came in the UEFA Europa Conference League play-offs and sealed their place in the first qualifying round of this competition.
However, they finished 7th overall in the Welsh Premier League, over 30 points adrift of the winners.
Newtown have previously featured in the UEFA Cup and Europa League qualifying rounds but have fallen at the first or second hurdle.
Their best performance to date came in the 2015/16 Europa League qualifiers, with a first round win over Valletta before elimination at the hands of FC Copenhagen.
Team news and Dundalk should start with Pat Hoban in attack and he will be supported by the experienced David McMillan and Norwegian Ole Midtskogen. Michael Duffy could also feature in the game.
Newtown have former Manchester United youth player Sean McAllister in their ranks plus Jordan Evans, who was previously on the books of Fulham and Matthew Williams, who also started his career at Manchester United.
Forebet predicits that Newtown will record a narrow win in this upcoming thriller, while it is possible to see goals from both teams.