Predictions & Livescore Champions League - Vikingur Reykjavik vs Shamrock Rovers

Champions League - Vikingur Reykjavik vs Shamrock Rovers
Match Time: 10-07-2024 02:45 Wednesday (GMT+8)
Football Livescore | Match Prediction & Tips
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Vikingur Reykjavik took one step closer to a fourth consecutive Icelandic Men's Football Cup crown on Wednesday when they secured a penalty-shootout victory over Stjarnan Gardabaer after a 1-1 draw in normal time.

After falling behind to Danijel Dejan Djuric's first-half strike, Gudmundur Kristjansson netted a dramatic 91st-minute equaliser to draw Stjarnan level and to force extra time, but with nothing to separate the sides after 30 minutes, the game went to penalties, where the hosts secured a 5-4 victory.

This was in keeping with their impressive run of results in the Besta deildin, where they are on a nine-game unbeaten run, picking up six wins and three draws since May's 3-1 loss against Kopavogur — their only defeat in the league this season.

Having clinched the 2023 league title, the Vikingar are on course to retain the crown as they currently lead the way at the top of the table with 33 points from their 14 games, five points above second-placed Valur Reykjavik.

Arnar Gunnlaugsson's men went unbeaten in 21 of their 22 matches last season, picking up 19 wins and two draws, to clinch their seventh Besta deildin title and book their spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

Vikingur are yet to feature in any UEFA competition, coming closest in the 2022-23 campaign, when they stormed to the third qualifying round before losing 4-1 on aggregate to Polish outfit Lech Poznan.

Shamrock Rovers, on the other hand, returned to winning ways in midweek as they held their lead to see out a 1-0 victory over Dundalk FC in the Irish Premier League.

After moving ahead at the Tallaght Stadium courtesy of a 29th-minute effort from Johnny Kenny, the hosts turned in a solid defensive effort to protect their lead and hand Dundalk their 12th league loss of the season.

Prior to that, Shamrock Rovers were on a run of two back-to-back league defeats, losing 2-1 against St. Patrick's Athletic on June 13, two weeks before suffering a 2-0 loss against Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds Stadium.

Stephen Bradley's men have picked up nine wins and seven draws in their 23 Premier League matches this season to collect 34 points and sit fourth in the table, 13 points adrift of league leaders Shelbourne.

Shamrock Rovers have lost seven games this term, three more than their total tally for last season, when they stormed to the league title, claiming 72 points from 36 games, to secure their spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

Having failed to secure European football last season, the aim for the Hoops remains to return to Europe for the first time since the 2022-23 campaign, when they featured in the Europa Conference League, albeit crashing out in the group stages.

Shamrock Rovers secured a 3-2 aggregate victory over Partizan back in 2011 to become the first Irish side to qualify for the UEFA Europa League, but are yet to make an appearance in the Champions League.

Prediction: Vikingur Reykjavik 2-1 Shamrock Rovers