UEFA Champions League 2025 Qualifying: Red Bull Salzburg vs Brann - Betting Tips, Odds & Prediction

SK Brann come to Red Bull Arena Salzburg on Thursday looking to overturn a three-goal deficit against RB Leipzig to seal a place in the UEFA Champions League group stages. 

Betting sites in NZ are overwhelmingly backing Salzburg to go through. The Austrian powerhouse took a massive step toward the finals when they crushed Brann on the road. This puts them in a strong position heading into the home fixture.

Can the Norwegian cause a massive upset in the Austrian capital? Join us as we preview the clash.

RB Salzburg

Despite a packed summer schedule that included the Club World Cup, Salzburg has shown no signs of fatigue in the first leg of this qualifier—particularly in the second half. 

They may have come up short in the Austrian title race again, but the hosts are still on course to make a seventh successive appearance in the Champions League, as the odds on football betting sites suggest. 

With a busy few weeks ahead, Thomas Letsch’s men got just the result they needed—brushing aside Dietach in the cup before turning their focus to Brann in the second leg of the UCL qualifier.

Team News: The injured trio of Moussa Yeo, Karim Konate, and Takumu Kawamura will remain sidelined as Salzburg prepare for their first home game of the new campaign.

Predicted Lineup: Schlager; Lainer, Gadou, Rasmussen, Kratzig; Nene, Bidstrup, Kjaergaard, Gloukh; Vertessen, Onisiwo.

Brann

Now deep into their spring-to-autumn season, Brann’s dip in domestic form has come at the same time as their likely Champions League exit.

It’s increasingly likely that Alexandersson’s men will drop into the Europa League. Betting apps are likely to offer favourable odds on Brann being relegated into the Conference League – a competition they've failed to qualify for in each of the past two seasons.

Brann need just one win from their remaining qualifiers to guarantee a spot in a European league phase, though Champions League qualification would take a lot more.

Team News: Brann could field the same XI even though they suffered a heavy defeat in the first leg.

Predicted Lineup: Dyngeland; Pedersen, Fauske Helland, Sery Larsen, Soltvedt; Kornvig, Sorensen, Myhre; Mathiasen, Magnusson, Gudmundsson.

• Salzburg have fired in eight goals in the first two matches of their new season.
• The Red Bulls fell 2-1 to Derby County in their most recent home game during the preseason.
• Brann have lost their last two games across both the Eliteserien and UCL qualifying rounds.

Brann had a great start in the reverse fixture before suffering a late collapse. Saevar Magnusson handed them a first half lead and they held on to it almost until the hour mark. 

After Nene Dorgeles equalised, Karim Onisiwo flipped the switch three minutes later, with Yorbe Vertessen and Maurits Kjaergaard adding late strikes to leave Brann with a mountain to climb in the second leg. 

Since the tie is nearly settled, Letsch might feel tempted to rotate his squad. Even if he chooses to do so, Salzburg should be able to win the game. The scoreline, however, should be more modest than the previous game. 

We are leaning on under 3.5 goals in this match. Both teams should score, but Salzburg will still win. 

RB Salzburg 2-1 Brann @ $9.00 

Since they have nothing to lose, Brann should produce a spirited display at the Red Bull Arena. They showed last week that they have the quality to trouble the Austrian Bundesliga giants. We expect them to find the back of the net again. That said, Salzburg should win in front of their home crowd. We don’t expect as many goals as the first leg since the home side don’t have the need to be overambitious in this game. So, we foresee a 2-1 scoreline in favour of Salzburg, with PlayUp paying out a handy $9.00 should this bet hit.