The Europa League qualifying stages get underway today and the team that looks to have the best chance of bringing success to the island is Dundalk. They travel away to face FC Levadia Tallinn who are from Estonia, but after a very good League of Ireland campaign Dundalk should have nothing to fear from them.

Dundalk are sitting pretty at the top of the League of Ireland right now, and they have a four point cushion on their nearest rivals who are Cork. They have lost just two games all season, winning 19 to show they know what it takes to win both at home in front of their own fans and away from home. Being top of the league should give them a huge confidence boost going into the Europa League, and it is no surprise to see them favourites to win the tie overall, and also favourited to win the first leg.

Things are not going to be easy, they have to travel away from home in the opening leg but there is no doubt that Dundalk are the better team in this tie, and if they play as good as we have seen them all season long so far then there is only going to be one winner here.

While they won’t mind picking up a draw away from home and bringing the tie back to Ireland to finish it off, I think Dundalk have more about them than that, and they will go out and win the first leg in Estonia to really take charge here.

Shamrock Rovers and Derry City Face Tougher Tasks

Although Dundalk look to have a great chance of winning today, the same cannot be said about Shamrock Rovers and Derry City. They have both been handed very tough ties against experienced European teams who will have their sights set on making the Europa League group stages.

Shamrock Rovers host AIK from Sweden, a team who have shown up well in Europe before. It would be no surprise to see goals in this game though, as the Swedish team attack looking to wrap up this tie in the first leg ahead of returning to Sweden for the second game. Shamrock will be hoping they can cause a huge surprise and at least hold AIK to a draw here, but that looks to be an incredibly tough task.

Another game that looks set to feature goals is Derry City vs Dinamo Minsk. Despite being in 5th place in the Irish League, Derry have conceded the third most goals so far this season, and with good opposition visiting them today, they look likely to concede more tonight. However, they do know where the back of the net is themselves, so don’t be surprise to see them score a goal of their own during this game, which is going to be another tough encounter for an Irish side tonight.

Dundalk will carry the main Irish hopes tonight, while the rest will be looking at causing upsets in the Europa League.

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