• Competition: UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifying
• Date: Thursday, 8th, August 2024
• Kickoff: 18:00 UK / 19.00 CEST
• Venue: Letzigrund Stadion (Zurich)

Swiss side Zurich will host Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes at Letzigrund for the first leg of their Europa Conference League third-round qualifiers on Thursday evening.

Zurich successfully began their quest for consecutive group-stage appearances in a European competition by comfortably defeating the Irish side Shelbourne 3-0 on aggregate. After their Europa League campaign last season ended in the group stage, European football at Letzigrund will continue for a second year only if Ricardo Moniz’s team overcomes all the hurdles in their path, with two more rounds to go before reaching the main draw of UEFA’s third-tier competition.

Their rival Vitoria Guimaraes, meanwhile, made a return to continental football after a five-year absence thanks to their fifth-place finish in the Primeira Liga last season. The last European qualification campaign for Os Conquistadores was a success as they overcame all challenges to earn a spot in the Europa League group stage for the 2019-20 season, and Rui Borges' squad will be hoping for another fruitful qualification run, having already cleared the first hurdle by thrashing Maltese minnows Floriana 5-0 on aggregate.

Zurich vs Vitoria Guimaraes Betting Tips: UNDER 2.5

Since both sides have proven difficult to overcome in the early part of the season and considering the high-stakes nature of the match where any mistake could be costly, we predict a tightly contested game with a scarcity of goals. Zurich enters their Thursday European clash with optimism after managing to hold Swiss champions Young Boys to a 2-2 draw in their last outing, which has kept them unbeaten in their opening trio of Super Liga matches (W2 D1). 

Although their defensive resistance faltered twice over the weekend, boss Ricardo Moniz can overall be satisfied with the work of the back four to date, as FCZ has posted three shutouts in their first five matches of the new season. In contrast, Guimaraes have managed to translate their outstanding pre-season form—claiming five wins from five friendlies—into success on the European front by putting five unanswered goals against Floriana, moving them a step closer to the UECL main draw. 

The defensive unit of Os Conquistadores looks unbreachable and steady, with Rui Borges's side coming into this contest on the back of four-consecutive clean sheets in any format and will again rely on their rock-solid defense to leave Swiss soil with the result they seek. Given that they do not want to tarnish their strong start to the season and jeopardize their chances of advancing to the final round of qualifiers, we expect both sides to place a sharp focus on defense, which could result in a quiet and uneventful contest with few goals.