Latest news with #Linfield
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
What channel is FK Žalgiris vs Linfield tonight? TV and live stream info for Conference League clash
Linfield are back in European action on Thursday night as they take on FK Žalgiris in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League. The Blues dropped down into the third tier competition following their narrow defeat to Shelbourne in the Champions League qualifiers last week. David Healy's men have faced the Lithuanians before when they lost 5-2 to Žalgiris in the first qualifying round of the Champions League. READ MORE: New Glentoran striker Pat Hoban slams Tiernan Lynch saying he will 'never forgive him' READ MORE: What channel is Linfield vs Shelbourne tonight? TV and live stream info for Champions League clash The winner of this two-legged tie will face Vikingur of the Faroe Islands in the third round. Here's more info on the game and how you can watch it. When and where is the game? FK Žalgiris vs Linfield is the LFF Stadium, Vilnius, on Thursday night, July 24. What time is kick-off? The game kicks off at 5pm UK time. How can I watch it? The game is not being broadcast live on TV, however viewers can purchase a live stream for £12 from SolidSport TV here. Betting odds FK Žalgiris 8/11 Linfield 7/2 Draw 9/4
Irish Daily Mirror
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Shelbourne v Qarabag FK LIVE score updates from the Champions League qualifier
Shelbourne will face a big step up as they face Qarabag in the second round of the Champions League this evening in front of a packed out Tolka Park. The Azerbaijan champions are heavily favoured to win this one despite the long journey west and Joey O'Brien's side will have it all to do. Shelbourne backed up their 1-0 home win against Linfield with a 1-1 draw in Windsor Park to secure their spot in the second round of Champions League qualifying. But they'll need to up their performance tonight if they are to get out of Tolka Park with a result. Today's game kicks off at 7.45 pm and will be shown live on Premier Sports 1, we will have all the live updates here on the Irish Mirror. So make sure to stay tuned to all the updates. Shelbourne: Healy, Caffrey, Gannon, Barrett (C), Ledwidge, Wilson, Lunney, McInroy, Wood, Coote, Mipo Subs: Speel, Topcu, Chapman, Coyle, Boyd, Martin, Bone, O'Sullivan, Kelly, Norris, Temple, Offor 19:20 Darragh Culhane Hello and welcome to live coverage between Shelbourne and Qarabag in the second round of Champions League qualifying. Things haven't been all rosy in Tolka Park following a stuttering league defence and Damien Duff's departure. But the show must go on with Joey O'Brien stepping into the role seamlessly. O'Brien, however, faces his toughest test to date with Qarabag coming to town and the Azerbaijan champions are heavily favoured for this one. Today's game kicks off at 7.45 pm and you can check out all the live score updates right here.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
What TV channel is Shelbourne vs Qarabag on? Stream, tickets, time and odds for Champions League clash
SHELBOURNE take on Qarabağ FK in the second round of Champions League qualifiers in Tolka Park tonight. A 2 Shelbourne's first Champions League campaign in 20 years has got off to a good start 2 Qarabag FK have qualified for a European group/league stage every year since 2014 Linfield dropped down to the Conference League second qualifying round after the loss where they will face Zalgiris Vilnius. Qarabağ FK were put straight into the second round of qualifiers due to Azerbaijan's superior coefficient. Here is everything you need to know before watching the game: Read more on League of Ireland WHAT TIME IS KICK-OFF? The crunch fixture kicks-off at 7:45pm in Drumcondra. WHAT TV CHANNEL IS SHELS VS QARABAG ON? The Champions League clash The coverage starts at 7:15pm and post match analysis will go on until 10:15pm. ARE TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE? Tickets initially sold out on the day of their general sale release, but a very limited amount of tickets were put on sale yesterday. Most read in Football The Azerbaijan champions failed to sell out their away allocation and the excess tickets were sold to home fans. These tickets have since sold out also. WHAT ARE THE ODDS? Qarabağ FK are heavy favourites going into the clash despite being out of season. Bookmakers have them set at 13/20 to win the first leg. Roma fans mob and serenade Ireland star Evan Ferguson at airport ahead of loan move from Brighton Shelbourne are 9/2 to win and a draw is 3/1, considering the Auld Reds are 11 home games unbeaten in European competitions. A record stretching over 21 years, including draws to Lille and Deportivo de La Coruña. Shelbourne are 6/1 to qualify for the next round whereas the Azerbaijani side are 1/10. WHAT HAS BEEN SAID IN THE BUILD-UP? Qarabağ FK boss Gurban Gurbanov has been complimentary of Shelbourne, having watched them play in the last round of the Champions League qualifiers. The Azeri manager said: "We are going to face a good side. I can only say good words about this team because I have been here and I watched the game against Linfield in the stadium. 'They have a unique style of play, they are very disciplined and physically very prepared. Shelbourne The Reds were trying to get international clearance for Speel in time for him to be available for selection against the Azerbaijani champions on Wednesday, although Healy will start at Tolka Park. Shels also The North Dublin side have been long time admirers of the youth star who even featured on the bench for Mikel Arteta's side in a Champions League game.
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Preview: Shels face steep challenge with luxury of safety net
It's a big ask for Shelbourne tonight (7.45pm) in their European journey, but they square up to Qarabag with the comfort of a lucrative safety net beneath them. 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 — 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.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Shelbourne boss Joey O'Brien wants no VAR repeat in Champions League clash vs Qarabag
AFTER feeling that VAR were on their back, now it is time for Qarabag. Players and coaches frequently say European football throws up a lot of different challenges without necessarily being able, or wanting to, say what they are. 2 Shelbourne head coach Joey O'Brien wasn't happy with some of the VAR decisions during their win over Linfield 2 O'Brien has called for his side to focus on what's in front of them rather than worry about things out of their control For In Dublin, it saw a penalty awarded to Shels for handball reversed. In Belfast, it saw a goal scrubbed because Paddy Barrett had pulled Euan East's jersey, preventing him from tracking Kerr McInroy's run at a corner. And Joey O'Brien sighed: 'That's the joy of it. We got the start against Linfield here to make things happen and got the peno which was overturned. 'The big one was last week because after they equalised we went straight back up just before half-time to score from a worked set-play that, most of the time, you would get away with it. READ MORE ON FOOTBALL 'The dressing room was a bit flat from the emotion of it, changing from thinking you're back ahead. It took a bit of an edge off us but I felt the lads managed the second half really well.' The ex-Ireland international did sound like a man who took issue with the actual decision and he was told how a jersey tug might still have gone unpunished even with the cameras present. He said: 'There was so much that goes into that. The first pass, the second pass, the step back, the movement to get there just as the ball arrives. 'There are so many moving parts in those things. Most read in Champions League 'Paddy by the letter of the law I suppose, he did pull his jersey. "I was actually speaking to the fourth official and he said it was just because it was the marker of Kerr, it wouldn't have been a foul if it hadn't been on the direct marker of Kerr. Mikel Arteta could not be happier with new Arsenal signing Martin Zubimendi 'Hopefully, we can get an opportunity again and we take it and it works just as good. 'Davey McAllister drew it up and set-plays are such a massive part of the game, the lads who have been here know that I would have had a huge focus on that over the last number of years. 'They decide so many big games and so many moments in big games. "I have said it to the lads before, you see results in England and Europe and it could be 2-0, 3-0 or 4-0 but ultimately, maybe the first goal or second goal could be a set-play and it could have broken the spirit of the opposition. 'So, set-plays are massive. Both sides of it, defending and attacking and I suppose over this tie and going forward, we need to be on the money in both boxes.' There may, in theory, be less pressure on Shels in this tie than there was in the previous round, when victory secured at least another six games and an easier route to group-stage football. But He said: 'To go into the next round and play against the opposition we are playing only comes about because we won the first game, and it's another great opportunity for the lads. 'It's a home game for us, there's going to be a great atmosphere here. "At home, the way I wanted to be as a player and want my team to play, I want to attack and get on the front foot and show our personality and our quality. 'A lot is made of it, the finances and stuff like that. From our point of view, it's a great opportunity to win a Champions League game, to have that on your CV as a player.' And, while nobody would argue that Shels were the better side than Linfield. They could still have gone out with mistakes in either half by keepers Conor Kearns and Lorcan Healy going unpunished which would be unlikely to happen against tonight's opposition. LATE ADDITION With Kearns' hamstring set to sideline him for a number of weeks, Shels have brought in O'Brien said: 'Last year, Conor didn't miss many games, he missed a couple this year and Lorcan came in and did really well. 'It's always difficult as a sub goalkeeper coming on. He acquitted himself quite well, he had one mistake in the second half, he had a bit of luck, he got away with it. 'I've full confidence, he has the jersey and it's up to him then to perform. 'He's a good character, a good presence, he's got games this year, done well in them and hopefully he can take that into tonight.' He confirmed that Jack Henry-Francis - signed following his release by Arsenal - will not be involved as he gets his fitness up to speed. O'Brien hopes those who are involved can show their street-smarts as they bid to overcome a side which defeated He said: 'At this level, like two or three passes and the ball can be in the back of your net. That's the players you're operating against. 'So again, even when you're in possession, especially as a defender, you need to always be busy, give yourself work to do, make sure your setup is correct. You're managing the game throughout.' At the other end, Ali Coote will hope to add to his European goal tally of three goals in 13 games. After netting twice for But he reckons helping Shels knock out Qarabag would rank as a bigger achievement than his brace against PAOK four years ago in the Conference League. He said: '100 percent, yeah. It's a bigger competition, isn't it? 'You just try and keep it as normal as possible, keep to your routine that works week in, week out. 'In terms of the actual game, of course the speed, the time on the ball, everything's just up those next few levels. So, like Joey said, you've got to bring your A game.'
