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The push for a place in the 2026-27 UEFA Conference League gets underway for Connah’s Quay and Ballkani when they lock horns in the first qualifying round on Wednesday. Both sides will be eager to get the new season off on the right foot and secure a vital first-leg advantage heading to Kosovo next week, and this makes for an exciting contest at Llanelian Road.
Read our Connah’s Quay vs Ballkani preview, prediction and betting tips below, while you can also find more of our expert predictions on today's betting tips page.
Connah’s Quay vs Ballkani key stats
- Ballkani have lost five of their last six competitive away matches, with a 2-1 victory over Drenica on April 30 being the exception.
- Connah’s Quay have lost just one of 12 games on their home patch since October, while picking up seven wins and five draws in that time.
- Ballkani have conceded the opening goal in seven of their last eight matches across all competitions.
- Connah’s Quay are without a clean sheet in each of their last nine home games, scoring 18 goals and conceding 11 since beating Penybont 4-0 in November.
Connah’s Quay vs Ballkani: European football in sight as first-ever meeting draws close
Connah’s Quay vs Ballkani — Tale of the Tape
| Connah’s Quay | vs | Ballkani |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd (Welsh Premier League) | Position | 3rd (Kosovo Superliga) |
| 58 | Points | 58 |
| 61 | Goals For | 61 |
| 38 | Goals Against | 41 |
| 8 | Clean Sheets | 11 |
| 2nd | Home/ Away Rank | 4th |
Connah’s Quay failed to break their Welsh Premier League jinx last season as they finished second in the standings with 58 points from 32 games, 32 points off champions The New Saints.
John Disney’s men have now finished as runners-up in each of the last four seasons, a run stretching back to the 2021-22 campaign, when they came third behind Cardiff Met FC and Aberystwyth Town in the league standings.
Connah’s Quay picked up two wins and two draws from their five games to close out the Premier League campaign, but they had a mixed run of results in pre-season, claiming one win and losing once in their two friendly matches.
The Nomads suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Northern Irish side Larne in their opening pre-season game on June 23, four days before edging out Scottish outfit Queen of the South 1-0 courtesy of a 44th-minute strike from Abdulrahman Mohamoud Sharif.
Connah’s Quay will be aiming to go past the first round of the qualifiers this season, a hurdle they failed to cross back in 2024, when they fell to a 2-1 aggregate defeat at the hands of Slovenian outfit NK Bravo.
It was a disappointing end to the season for Ballkani, as they dropped 12 of the final 15 points to close out the Kosovo Superliga campaign, with their only win in that time coming on May 17, when they narrowly defeated Prishtina e Re 3-2 on home turf.
The late-season dip saw John Disney’s men miss out on a second league crown in three seasons, but they comfortably secured a spot in the Conference League qualifiers, finishing third in the table with 58 points from 36 games.
Having registered a combined 42 goal contributions in the league alone, Valentin Serebe and Almir Kryeziu were standout performers last term, but with the latter joining league rivals Shkendija this summer, Serebe will be tasked with the side’s attacking responsibilities.
The Xhebrailat head into Wednesday’s crunch tie off the back of three pre-season warm-up games, claiming a 1-0 victory over Bulgarian outfit Hebar Pazardzhik on June 24 before suffering consecutive defeats against Botev Plovdiv and Silenks.
Having finished as runners-up in the league in the 2024-25 campaign, Ballkani made it to the Conference League third qualifying round last season before crashing out courtesy of a 4-1 aggregate loss at the hands of Irish side Shamrock Rovers.
Connah’s Quay vs Ballkani form guide & betting tips
| Connah’s Quay | vs | Ballkani |
|---|---|---|
W
D
L
D
W |
Form |
L
L
W
L
L
|
| 6 | Goals For | 2 |
| 5 | Goals Against | 9 |
N/A |
UEFA Conference League | N/A |
Whispers’ prediction: Connah’s Quay 1-2 Ballkani
Ballkani boast a superior and more experienced squad on paper, and despite their struggles in pre-season, the bookmakers have them as clear favourites to come away with the win at 33/100 (75.2%).
The visitors have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last six competitive games, and BTTS – Yes at 5/4 (2.25) is another appealing option, while we also fancy Over 2.5 goals at 4/5 (1.80).
Ballkani to win + BTTS is currently priced at 13/5 (3.60), which is perhaps the value bet for us, while the correct score market has a correct score of 1-2 at 18/1 (19.00).
> Over 2.5 goals – Yes @ 4/5 | Likelihood: Possible
> BTTS – Yes at 5/4 | Likelihood: Possible
> Ballkani to win + BTTS – Yes @ 13/5 | Likelihood: Probable
> Correct score: 1-2 at 18/1 | Likelihood: Outsider