Sports Mole previews Thursday’s Conference League clash between Shamrock Rovers and Molde, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
The League of Ireland’s Shamrock Rovers will be vying for a place in the UEFA Conference League‘s round of 16 on Thursday when they welcome Molde to Tallaght Stadium.
The Hoops have a 1-0 lead to protect from the first leg, and MFK will have to go all out to progress in a finely poised clash.
Match preview
© Imago
It was back to school last Friday for Rovers’ 16-year-old hero Michael Noonan, who netted the only goal of the tie so far on his debut at Aker Stadion just 12 hours prior.
The youngster got on the end of a Dylan Watts ball on the 57-minute mark to put his side in front, and though it must be said that Molde were playing with 10 men from the 42nd minute onwards, it was Noonan that drew a challenge from Valdemar Lund that was deemed worthy of a straight red.
In the competition’s league phase, Stephen Bradley‘s team were unlucky not to have qualified for the round of 16 outright, having finished 10th in the table and missed out on a spot in the top eight on goal difference alone.
That being said, last Thursday’s narrow victory was sandwiched between two domestic losses for the hosts, who were beaten 3-0 by Dundalk at Tallaght Stadium on February 7 and 1-0 on the road to Bohemians most recently in the Irish top flight.
Regardless, Rovers will go into their clash as slight favourites, and with a lead to hold on to, they will have to avoid complacency if they are to get over the line and into the next round.
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Meanwhile, Per-Mathias Hogmo‘s Molde made it into the Conference League playoffs on the final day of the league phase with a dramatic 4-3 win over Mlada Boleslav.
With those three points in hand, MFK squeezed through in 23rd place, level on points with Scottish club Hearts, who dropped out of the top 24 with a draw in their last game.
As the visitors are waiting for the new Eliteserien campaign to get underway next month, they played a number of friendlies in preparation for the first leg, including against Shamrock Rovers’ league rivals St. Patrick’s Athletic at the start of February, a game that they lost 2-1.
It is worth highlighting that Hogmo’s side have not played any competitive matches in 2025 outside of last week’s Conference League loss, and given that they have alternated between victory and defeat this year, the seven day gap between full-blooded fixtures could prevent them from building rhythm.
On the other hand, Molde will have had a full week of rest and preparation ahead of Thursday’s must-win clash, and this may give them an edge over their opponents.
Shamrock Rovers Conference League form:
Shamrock Rovers form (all competitions):
Molde Conference League form:
Molde form (all competitions):
Team News
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After his debut heroics in the first leg, Michael Noonan is likely to continue up top alongside Daniel Mandroiu.
Midfielder Matthew Healy picked up a knock in Norway, but considering that he featured against Bohemians last time out, he should start once more with Dylan Watts and Aaron McEneff in the centre of the park.
Molde will be without centre-back Valdemar Lund after his red card in the first leg, and boss Hogmo could field a 16-year-old of his own this time around if young defender Daniel Nakken gets the nod to take his place.
Elsewhere, defender Casper Oyevann will not feature, while midfielder Johan Bakke will be out until late next month, so Mats Moller Daehli and Emil Breivik should line up in the middle third.
Further forward, striker Veton Berisha is anticipated to make a comeback in the next few weeks after not making a matchday squad since August, though Fredrik Gulbrandsen will be starting in his absence on Thursday.
Shamrock Rovers possible starting lineup:
McGinty; Honohan, Cleary, Lopez, Grace, Grant; Watts, Healy, McEneff; Noonan, Mandroiu
Molde possible starting lineup:
Karlstrom; Stenevik, Amundsen, Nakken, Haugen; Daehli, Breivik; Eriksen, Eikrem, Kaasa; Gulbrandsen
We say: Shamrock Rovers 1-1 Molde
With a lead to protect, Rovers will set out to make things difficult for Molde, though they could fall into the trap of simply defending the existing scoreline and may take some time to recover should they concede first.
That being said, the Hoops do not need to win on Thursday night and are likely at least secure a draw at Tallaght Stadium to see them through to the round of 16.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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