On Wednesday night, Dundalk and Riga go head-to-head at Oriel Park in the first leg of the first qualifying round of the Champions League.
Dundalk heads into this tie as favourites to progress against their inexperienced opponents. The visitors have yet to appear in the Champions League, so are set to make history in this tie.
Despite Dundalk’s recent record in the competition not being great, it looks like the Latvian’s time in the competition may be short-lived.
The home side are not exactly Champions League veterans themselves, as the Irish champions only made their competition debut back in 2015. Since that first tie against BATE Borisov, they have won just once in ten outings.
Their last involvement in this competition came back in 2017 when they suffered an extra-time defeat against Norwegian team Rosenborg in this round of the competition.
Dundalk’s recent outings in the Champions League have been relatively low-scoring, with under 2.5 goals scored in three of their last four matches.
The hosts have a mixed recent home record in the Champions League, as they have drawn three, won one and lost one of their five matches on home soil in the competition.
Their home games in this competition have been tight, with under 2.5 goals scored in four of their last five matches.
When it comes to domestic football, both teams are top of their respective league tables. Riga are four points clear at the top of the Latvia top-flight, while Dundalk are eight points clear in the Irish Premier Division.
🙌 A big week for us...We take on @RigaFC_Official in the #UCL 1QR on Wednesday at Oriel Park. Kick-off at 19.45. 👊#MondayMotivation #DUNRIG #CmonTheTown pic.twitter.com/x8TDbttecQ— Dundalk FC (@DundalkFC) July 8, 2019
🙌 A big week for us...We take on @RigaFC_Official in the #UCL 1QR on Wednesday at Oriel Park. Kick-off at 19.45. 👊#MondayMotivation #DUNRIG #CmonTheTown pic.twitter.com/x8TDbttecQ
Riga head into the match in mixed form, but Dundalk have won their last five games in all competitions.
The visitors will no doubt use this clash a learning curve. Forebet predicts that Dundalk will give them a proper European education by recording a comfortable victory in a high-scoring clash.