Our prediction for this Europa League match:
Following a 2-0 win over AIK in the Allsvenskan, Hacken will be aiming to give fans yet another reason to celebrate when they take on Qarabag on Thursday evening. Hacken failed to upset Bayer Leverkusen at BayArena in their opener, but they are surely capable of making life difficult for Qarabag in front of home fans. All Turgott, Trpchevski, and Laursen should miss out with injuries for the home team.
The Azeri, on the other hand, rolled over Sumqayit 5-0 in their last league match and given their attacking potential, we believe that punters from all around the globe can find value in betting on both teams to score. A man to keep an eye on in the visiting team will be Juninho, who scored a brace at the weekend, while boss Gurban Gurbanov has no fresh injury worries ahead of the trip to Sweden.
Highlighted Team (Qarabag):
Over the years Qarabag have established themselves as one of the best teams in Azerbaijan. The club was founded in 1951 and they were playing under the name of Mehsul back then. Qarabag won their first trophy in the national championship in 1993, beating Khazar Sumgayit in the title game.
In the 2015/2016 season they won their fourth domestic trophy, with the team finishing the season 22 points clear of second-placed Zira. Qarabag participated in the 2016/2017 Champions League qualifiers, but they were more than unfortunate to suffer a loss to Viktoria Plzen in the two-legged tie. The Azerbaijan outfit were beaten by the Czechs on away goal rule and, as a result, they made it to the Europa League playoffs.
Thanks to a win over Goteborg in the double-header Qarabag made it to the knockout stages of the competition. The Horsemen play their home games at Azersun Arena and their home colours are black. Qarabag play their away games in white kits.