Tuesday Football Tips: Back 18/1 Bet Builder in UCL qualifier

• Birmancevic top-scored for odds-on Sparta last season

• Wiesner carded in 8 of last 18 European starts

• Back Bet Builder double at 18/119.00

• Get a FREE bet every time your PL team scores a goal in August!

Shamrock Rovers v Sparta Prague
Tuesday 23 July, 20:00

The second round of Champions League qualifying gets under way on Tuesday and a tough task faces Irish champs Shamrock Rovers.

They play host to a Sparta Prague side who made the last 16 of the Europa League last season. By the time they ran into Liverpool, they had already beaten Galatasaray, Real Betis and Dinamo Zagreb.

In short, they are a decent side, one who should be too good for their hosts, as odds of 2/71.29 suggest.

Shamrock entered in the previous round and really struggled to get past Vikingur Reykjavik. The Icelandic side missed an injury-time penalty at Tallaght Stadium which would have sent the tie to extra time.

This looks a big step up and Rovers will need a significant improvement one suspects, although how they'll manage that with Jack Byrne suspended and several other players injured is open to question.

The good news is Sparta aren't yet at full strength with several players not yet back on club duty following Euro 2024.

Leg 1: Veljko Birmancevic to score

However, one who has already returned is Serbia's Veljko Birmancevic and he's worth noting.

The winger was Sparta's top scorer last season with 22 goals in all competitions, five of those coming in Europe.

In a game in which his team go off heavy favourites, Birmancevic looks a spot of value at 9/43.25 to score at any time.

Leg 2: Tomas Wiesner to be shown a card

A look at the player-card market also suggests a few Sparta players are overpriced.

This is undoubtedly down to the fact they are so short for victory but while closely-contested games do tend to have a higher card count, the match odds don't mean cards won't be shown.

Sparta received 2+ cards in 10 of their 14 European games last season, with 3+ collected in seven of those.

Shamrock's two games with Vikingur produced a total of 13 cards - they will likely get stuck in here.

There are a number of chunky prices in this market but the one I like best is the 4/15.00 about Tomas Wiesner being shown a card.

The midfielder led the way in terms of cards for Sparta last season - he received eight in his 23 starts. He was also booked in this season's league opener on Friday.

Wiesner's card record in Europe is very strong - across the last three seasons, he's picked up eight in 18 starts in the UEFA competitions.

It's even better if you filter things down to the qualifying rounds where he's been carded in five of nine starts.

Dutch referee Joey Krooij's card numbers do climb when he's outside his domestic competitions - he showed 11 in one Europa Conference League game last season - and so I'm more than happy to back Wiesner for another card here.

The double with a goal for Birmancevic comes to a tasty 18/119.00.

Premier League: Man City 50/1 for the Quadruple