Qarabag vs Lincoln Red Imps

Qarabag will look to get the job done when they meet Lincoln Red Imps in the return leg of their Champions League qualifying tie at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium.

Goals on either side of halftime inspired Qarabag to a routine 2-0 first-leg win last week, helping the Azerbaijani powerhouse set one foot in the next qualifying round. Odds-on to register another clear-cut victory, Gurban Gurbanov’s men come into proceedings unbeaten in their last six competitive matches (W5, D1), five of which saw them score 2+ goals. The reigning Azerbaijan Premier League holders will likely maintain that trend in this contest, considering they’ve bagged at least two goals in all three previous encounters against Lincoln (W3). Adding to Qarabag’s confidence, they’ve not lost a home game in any competition since a 2-0 defeat to Sporting Braga in last season’s Europa League playoff round, going unbeaten in nine consecutive outings in Baku (W7, D2).

Unless Lincoln Red Imps can pull off an unprecedented upset in Azerbaijan, this should be the end of their Champions League aspirations, which is barely a surprise, given they’ve failed to make it out of this stage in all eight previous attempts. The visitors may have to worry about damage limitation after losing their last three Champions League away games by 2+ goals ‘to nil.’ Going unbeaten in all ten competitive away matches in 2024 (W9, D1) can’t inspire much confidence around Javi Munoz’s camp, as none of their domestic rivals don’t match Qarabag’s quality. But the Red Imps can take heart from conceding just twice on their last eight road trips as they bid to avoid a catastrophe in Baku.