European preview: Hoops and Saints aim for play-off

Thursday 15 August

Europa League third round qualifying second leg

Shamrock Rovers v Celje (Slovenia), Tallaght Stadium, 7.45pm

Conference League third round qualifying second leg

FC Sabah (Azerbaijan) v St Patrick's Athletic, Bank Republic Arena, 5pm

Coverage

Follow a live blog on Shamrock Rovers v Celje on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app. Score updates will be available on FC Sabah v St Patrick's Athletic.

The state of play

Shamrock Rovers are 1-0 down to Celje following a tight first leg in Slovenia which saw the Hoops have chances in the first half. Given how the game went, it wasn't the worse outcome.

The Saints played against 10 men for a lot of their clash with Sabah and secured a one-goal advantage. They were left frustrated knowing there could have been a second goal.

It remains to be seen how telling that is.

If Shamrock Rovers go through, they will secure Conference League group stage football with a play-off for the Europa League to come.

Pat's must win to reach the Conference play-off. Defeats over two legs will end their European campaign.

Shamrock Rovers prepare for potentially lucrative game against NK Celje in the Europa League, reports @Corktod #RTESport #RTESoccer pic.twitter.com/Yxkk6JZVau

Hoops more comfortable on home soil?

The first leg was hard to make a judgement on due to the state of Celje's pitch.

Stephen Bradley labelled it a "disgrace". Some of the worst pitches in the Premier Division in February looked better and it restricted what both sides could do.

Being a goal down will put the emphasis on Shamrock Rovers to attack.

They will look to Graham Burke for a moment of magic as they remain without Johnny Kenny and Rory Gaffney.

The Hoops have been good in Tallaght in their home games, beating