- Market odds: St. Gallen are the favourites to win this UEFA Conference League qualification game at 1.95.
- Underdog odds: Sheriff are a very decent 3.55 to take the spoils, with the draw set at 3.65.
- Recent form: In the last five, Sheriff have two wins, a draw and two defeats while St. Gallen have won twice and lost three times.
Sheriff will pack the defense and hit on the break
St. Gallen are the slight favorites to win this UEFA Conference League qualification match with FC Sheriff Tiraspol at 1.95 ahead of Sheriff at 3.55 and the draw at 3.65. The market appears to have the match right here with St. Gallen the likelier winners, but Sheriff's counterattacking setup should give them enough bite to keep this one honest.
It's only been since 1 June 2025 since Victor Mihailov took over at Sheriff, but he has the team well drilled as a compact, disciplined and difficult to break down unit. His side will sit deep and narrow, either in a low or mid block, depending on the game situation, but once the ball is turned over they will be quick into the wide areas and looking to get forward.
St. Gallen are more of an aggressive, pressing team, which should make this a matchup of press versus counter on Thursday at Sheriff Stadium in Moldova. Enrico Maassen's men have been playing a high-tempo, front-foot style of football since he took over at St. Gallen on 1 July 2024. They play with width and depth, but the high tempo comes from their ability to press and recover, which can make them boom-or-bust in terms of their results.
St. Gallen’s high-octane style can trip up Sheriff
St. Gallen recent form
Maassen's side hammered FC Zurich 2-1 at home before losing 5-0 to SL Benfica on their most recent away game, a result that neatly sums up their overall approach. St. Gallen are the sharper of these two teams overall, particularly when looking back at their last 10 in all competitions where they have won six, drawn one and lost three.
Sheriff form and threats
However, Sheriff's form is steady, if not spectacular, with four wins, four draws and only two defeats from their last 10 games. They have been poor at home recently, going 0-1-1 in their past three, but the hosts were absolutely blown away by Maccabi Tel-Aviv at the weekend when they lost 5-0 in front of their own fans.
That was preceded by a drab 0-0 home draw against FC Milsami Orhei and a 1-0 defeat to Maccabi Tel-Aviv earlier today. Sheriff's main spark is Jayder Asprilla, who has two of their four goals in the past five games. He has the finishing power to make them a threat on the counterattack and if they can get one good run at the St. Gallen defense they should get a result.
Both teams will get chances in Moldova
Sheriff's best chance of getting a foothold in this game will be to absorb the pressure and hit on the change. St. Gallen's best course of action is to force errors higher up the field and maintain the tempo.
But the odds on goals look very good here, with Both Teams To Score at 1.52 and Over 2.5 Goals at 1.6 looking the best way to take on this clash.
- Sheriff do concede at a rate of 1.40 goals per game at home, so they will not be able to sit deep all game without consequence.
- St. Gallen are leaking 2.20 goals per away game on average, so should be vulnerable to the counterattack.
- The game is likely to be close but St. Gallen are the more likely winners here because St. Gallen have gone 0-2-0 in their two most recent road games.
