Vikingur – Thun Preview – can the champions defy a three-goal deficit?
Three goals down with ninety minutes to find them all: that is the mountain Vikingur have to climb when Thun arrive in Reykjavik for this Europa League third qualifying round return leg. Our Vikingur vs Thun betting tips lean into that chaos rather than shy away from it, because the Icelandic champions have the platform for it and Thun have just shown the rest of Europe exactly how a lead can slip.
Kickoff at Vikingsvollur is set for 13 August 2026 at 17:30 GMT. Vikingur go into it top of the Besta deildin, seven points clear of Fram Reykjavik, and chasing a second straight top-flight crown after landing their eighth-ever Icelandic title last season. They have barely lost at home since the spring. None of that changes the scoreboard from Switzerland though, where Thun won the first leg three-nil and left Vikingur needing something close to a football miracle.
Vikingur – Thun Betting Tips
Betting Tip: Vikingur to win the second leg
Vikingur have not lost at home since the spring, and they arrive with nothing to lose and a full stadium pushing them forward. Thun, meanwhile, have just proven under real pressure, against a tougher side than this, that they can fold late. Backing the hosts to win the night itself is a sound single-leg pick even if the tie as a whole is a different conversation.
Betting Tip: Over 2.5 goals
Chasing three goals means Vikingur have to camp forward from the first whistle, which should drag Thun’s back line out of position and open the game up at both ends. Thun have shown late in their last two knockout matches that they do not defend a lead calmly, and a stretched, end-to-end night in Reykjavik suits the over. Check the latest match odds before kickoff to see how the market is pricing this one.
Betting Tip: Both teams to score
Thun have already scored three times in this tie and carry goals in behind a defence that will be stretched chasing the game. Vikingur’s own home form has been built on scoring at Vikingsvollur too, and an urgent, forward-pointed performance from the hosts should get them on the board as well.
For the second leg alone this is close to a genuine toss-up, even with Vikingur pushing so hard at home. Thun remain favourites to go through on aggregate, but the smart tip for this specific match sits with the home side chasing something worth fighting for.
Thun have already shown the cracks
This is not a Thun side without scars. Days after seeing off Vikingur in the first leg, Thun were knocked out of Champions League qualifying by Dinamo Zagreb, and not quietly: they led by two goals with well under twenty minutes to go and still contrived to lose four-three on aggregate. A team capable of surrendering that sort of lead against a stronger continental opponent is a team that can be got at, and Vikingur will fancy that an early goal does exactly that.
Thun were also missing suspended captain Marco Bürki along with two injured regulars for the first leg in Switzerland, which is part of why that three-nil scoreline came with an asterisk attached. As we noted in our first-leg preview, a depleted Thun still found a way to win comfortably, and that should worry Vikingur more than any of Thun’s recent wobbles.
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