Sheriff dreams of international football nights again
FC Sheriff is no longer an unknown quantity on the international stage. In the last five years in particular, the top team from Moldova has enjoyed exciting evenings against some of the very best teams from Europe’s top leagues. Since 2021, the yellow and blacks have faced Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester United, and AS Roma, among others, in competitive matches. However, this has always been preceded by arduous qualifying rounds. In 2025/26, Sheriff Tiraspol and Prishtina will first have to qualify, with the Wasps needing to progress if they are to continue dreaming of big football nights.
It will be important for the hosts to secure a good starting position in their own stadium on Thursday. However, this will be no easy task, as the visitors from Kosovo are also eager to take advantage of the opportunity to play in the Europa League, which they earned by winning the cup in their home country. Given their greater experience and higher individual quality, the German bookmakers’ predictions for the match between Sheriff Tiraspol and Prishtina are relatively clear in favor of the home side.
Sheriff Tiraspol – Statistics & current form
With 21 championships, FC Sheriff remains the undisputed record champion in Moldova. Last season, however, the country’s flagship club had to settle for second place behind FC Milsami, despite not losing a single league game in the 24-match season. At least in the cup, the Wasps defeated their archrivals 2-1 in the final at the end of May, securing their ticket to the Europa League qualifiers.
FC Sheriff is already in full swing
As was the case last year, the yellow and blacks will start in the first qualifying round this time around. In 2024/25, they almost embarrassed themselves against FK Kira from Azerbaijan. After an embarrassing 0-1 defeat in the first leg at home, they needed an away win and extra time in the second leg to advance. Ultimately, Elfsborg proved too strong in the second qualifying round, and they also failed to make it through to the next round against Ljubljana in the third round of Conference League qualifying.
In any case, one should not make the mistake of taking the great performances from the 21/22, 22/23, or 23/24 seasons, when the team always made it to at least the group stage of the Champions League or Europa League, as a benchmark. In my opinion, however, the bookmakers are doing just that, which is one of the reasons why they are offering such low odds on a home win between Sheriff Tiraspol and Prishtina. These are hardly justified, though. I would therefore deliberately refrain from betting on the three-way market and instead combine the double chance 1X with under goals at most.
The Moldovans will find it much tougher against a deep-lying opponent than in the league, where the team of new coach Victor Mihailov, who took over at the beginning of June, got off to a good start to the new season with three wins from three games. Unlike their upcoming opponents, the Wasps have match practice and a certain competitive toughness. Nevertheless, the Sheriff Tiraspol vs. Prishtina betting odds do not offer value for a home win.
Predicted line-up:
Dyulgerov – Atila, Raí, Boakye, Magassouba – Ademo, Soumah, Bayala, Yade, Diarra – Gjoni
Prishtina – Statistics & current form
It has been four years since Prishtina last tasted international action in a UEFA competition. As Kosovan champions, however, the Blue and Whites were knocked out of the Champions League in the first qualifying round without a whimper, losing 3-0 and 3-1 to Ferencvaros. The team from the country’s capital has been far from winning the national championship in recent years. Three fifth-place finishes were followed by a sixth-place finish in the league last season. The team secured its place in the Europa League with a somewhat surprising cup victory.
Prishtina has taken a step forward under Thaqi
Although, as mentioned, they only finished sixth in the final standings in 2024/25, Prishtina were mostly able to rely on their own defense. The 36 goals conceded were one of the best records in the league. The defense was particularly solid under coach Arsim Thaqi, who only took over in April. Just seven goals conceded in twelve competitive games are impressive proof of this. Also interesting: FC Prishtina lost only two of these twelve games (6-4-2) and made some decent improvements in the transfer market in the summer, aiming to play a much better role at the national level in 2025/26.
The Kosovans are certainly taking the challenge of qualifying for the Europa League very seriously. After all, it is an opportunity to prove themselves on the international stage and, at best, generate some revenue. The goal of the underdogs on Thursday evening will be to keep a clean sheet for as long as possible and make life as difficult as possible for their opponents. Attacks of their own are likely to be the exception rather than the rule.
Instead, they will focus on building compact defensive lines and parking the proverbial team bus in front of their own goal. Given this approach, the odds for a 0-0 draw after 45 minutes between Sheriff Tiraspol and Prishtina are worth considering. You can get impressive odds of 3.16 for this in the Merkur Bets app.
Predicted line-up:
Nika – Ajdini, Halili, Vitija – Fazliu, Namani, Salihu, Yakubu – Baftiu – Kryeziu, Ilievski
Sheriff Tiraspol – Prishtina Head-to-head record / H2H record
This is the first time the two teams have faced each other in a competitive match. For FC Sheriff, it is their first encounter with a Kosovan club. For Prishtina, it is also their first match against a Moldovan representative. The head-to-head record therefore plays no role whatsoever in our considerations for Thursday.
Sheriff Tiraspol – Prishtina Tip
Sheriff Tiraspol is definitely one of the big names in the early qualifying rounds of the UEFA Europa League. This is due to their impressive performances at international level between 2021 and 2023. After a disappointing 2024/25 season, which ended with them finishing runners-up in their domestic league, they are aiming to do better in 2025/26 – both in the league and in European competition. In any case, FC Prishtina is a manageable opponent in the first qualifying round. Nevertheless, the Kosovan cup winners should not be underestimated.
Especially since coach Thaqi took over in April, the Blue and Whites have been much more stable in defense and have benefited from this in terms of results. It can be assumed that the underdogs will play from a very compact defense and give the home side little space.
I therefore tend to expect a low-scoring encounter and recommend betting on Asian Under 2.75 at Bet365 for the first leg between Sheriff Tiraspol and Prishtina. The odds for this are 1.89. I am betting five units. If exactly three goals are scored at the end, I will get half of my stake back. If there are two or fewer goals in the game after 90 minutes, my bet will win.
