Preview: Shels face steep challenge with luxury of safety net
The Reds are in bonus territory thanks to their deserved 2-1 aggregate victory over Linfield in the Champions League first-round qualifier last week, a success that earned the club €750k.
They'll make a minimum of €1.7m overall out of Europe this year.
The winners of this tie will face either Romanian side FCSB (formerly known as Steaua Bucharest) or KF Shkendija of Macedonia in the third round.
If Shels were to lose to Qarabag, they'd fall into the Europa League third qualifying round to face the losers of Croatian outfit HNK Rijeka and Ludogorets 1945 from Bulgaria.
Not easy, but even that wouldn't be the last-chance saloon because they'd still have the Conference League qualifiers to drop down to should they lose again.
It's a great situation to be in, but for now the focus is on putting it up to seasoned European performers.
Qarabag come to the capital expecting to progress in relatively straightforward fashion.
They made it to the Europa League league stage last year, and though they finished bottom of the 36-team group with just one win from eight games, their pedigree at that level is more than decent.
They've reached the group/league stages of the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League every season since 2014/15.
Boss Gurban Gurbanov was at Tolka Park to watch Joey O'Brien's men beat Linfield 1-0 so they won't be caught off guard here.
Gurbanov was in charge when Qarabag beat Dundalk 4-1 on aggregate in the second round of Champions League qualifying back in 2019. He knows this terrain pretty well.
"They have a unique style of play," he said yesterday. "They play with desire, they have their own system and their counter-attacks are very dangerous."
Qarabag are in pre-season, which nourishes hopes the underdogs might catch them cold. But over two legs their significantly greater resources should tell.
At least Shelbourne will be pretty fresh on their own patch.
O'Brien was able to make 11 changes for Sunday's FAI Cup clash at non-league Fairview Rangers in Limerick.
He got minutes into the legs of Sam Bone, Sean Boyd, Dan Kelly and John Martin who helped Shels ease to a straightforward 4-0 win as other senior men put the feet up, but they're not without injury headaches for this Tolka Park showdown.
First-choice keeper Conor Kearns is definitely out after limping off with a hamstring strain against Linfield in Belfast last week.
That means Lorcan Healy will start tonight, with new Dutch arrival Wessel Speel - announced on Tuesday - coming in on loan from Minnesota United to offer further back-up.
Jack Henry-Francis will not be involved however; he misses out on the matchday squad after arriving from Arsenal earlier this week as he continues to build up his fitness levels.
In better news skipper Mark Coyle has recovered from a knee issue and is expected to take his place in the engine room.
Back in 2004, when O'Brien was breaking through as a young player at Bolton Wanderers, the Reds pulled off a famous 4-3 aggregate victory over Hajduk Split to reach the Champions League third qualifying round.
Dave Rogers' famous screamer sent them through to face Deportivo La Coruna, who were held scoreless in Dublin before eventually wearing down Pat Fenlon's men in Spain, where they won 3-0.
They were heady times, the sort of days many Shels fans feared they'd never experience again.
And while making the Champions League group stages is, realistically, an impossible dream for Shels right now, they'll certainly be hoping to emulate Shamrock Rovers' run in last season's Conference League.
Not that O'Brien sees it quite like that.
Joey O'Brien's Shelbourne, who were drawn against St Patrick's Athletic in the third round of the FAI Cup earlier today, are preparing to host Azerbaijani outfit Qarabag in the Champions League on Wednesday night pic.twitter.com/9hd0TqdTYP
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) July 22, 2025
"It's amazing I suppose for finances and stuff like that, but from our point of view, and from the lads' point of view, it's a great opportunity again to win a Champions League game," he said.
"To have that on your CV as a player, to go into the next round and play against the opposition we're playing only comes about because we won the first game (against Linfield).
"So it's another great opportunity for the lads, and I suppose by winning that last leg, yeah, it gives us the possibility to open up other doors."
Tolka will be red-hot for this one.
Due to UEFA stadium requirements, it'll be the final time this year that Shels play a European match at the old ground; they'll decamp to Tallaght or Aviva Stadium going forward.
Expect blood and thunder, energy and endeavour.
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