Play-Off Round Predictions > Aug 28th & 29th

[StevieDay1983]

[StevieDay1983]

The second legs of the Champions League Play-Off Round are coming up this week. There is still plenty to play for and for half of these teams an exciting venture into the group stages awaits if they win. Let us know your tips for these matches! 

[DrO]

Salzburg home win 1.44? Wow!
Crvena zvezda have good team and i don't really undrstand why are they so underrated. Unfortunately i didn't have time to write a preview of first leg,but i was absolutely sure we wouldn't lose it. 

As for the 2nd leg..
Crvena zvezda has played so far in this season 11.official matches (both in Europe and domestic league) and it's still without defeat. In these matches we only conceded 3.goals. From the begining of the previous season and under new coach Vladan Milojevic we really made progress,not just at home ground but in away fixtures as well: vs.Arsenal 0:0, vs.Koln 1:0, vs.Sparta Prague 1:0,vs.Krasnodar 2:3,vs.CSKA Moscow 0:1. So no one out-played us and what is more important - nobody beat us with two goals margin. I really don't see it happening in Salzburg either.
First match in Belgrade ended in goaless draw but we were without the fans because of ban. Which was a huge blow for the team. 
Now it will be different in Salzburg where i expect advantage on the stands because there is a large number of Serbs living in Austria and Germany. Im sure in one thing - the atmosphere will be like we playing on home ground.

In pre-season we've already played against two Austrian clubs and won both of them (vs.Lask 3:1,vs.Ried 2:0) but Red Bull Salzburg is something different. 
Salzburg have a good team,but a bit weaker than last season (this is my opinion of course). By the looks of things they wont have Hwang and Junuzovic available for the second match,and Leiner,Onguene and Schlager have some fitness issues as well.

In Crvena Zvezda only defender Savic is questionable but Babic is ready to fully replace him.

Salzburg have struggled against two Croatian teams (Dinamo and Rijeka) in couple of previous seasons and they were knocked-out by them. I see this Crvena zvezda side as strong,organized and hard to crack. Salzburg is legitimate favorite,but shouldn't be this big.

I think that if we lose on Wednesday it not going to be a big lost. 
Therefore my pick will definitely be Crvena zvezda AH+1. 
By the looks of things,the odds on home side are dropping so i will wait for a couple of days for better odds on away side. 
(i'll probably try Crvena zvezda to qualify for small stake as well)

Edited August 24, 2018 by DrO

[Magic0024]

Football Facts and Streaks regarding Champions League

AEK Athens won their last 3 games in all competitions.
Young Boys scored in last 24 away games in all competitions.
Dinamo Zagreb scored in last 11 games in all competitions.
Ajax won their last 4 games in all competitions.
Dynamo Kyiv scored in last 7 games in all competitions.

You can find interesting 51 Football Betting Streaks for 28.08.2018 on this link ... http://eurofootballrumours.com/football-facts-and-streaks-28-08-2018-11029

[malabgd]

AEK Athens v Vidi FC

AEK Athens: Bakasetas (1/0 f, suspended), Rodrigo Galo (1/0 d), Chygrynskiy (0/0 d), Ajdarević (0/0 m), Albanis (0/0 m), Boyé (0/0 f)

Vidi FC: Varga (3/0 m, doubtful), Huszti (3/1 m, suspended)

 

Dynamo Kiev v AFC Ajax

Dynamo Kiev: Besedin (4/0 f, doubtful)

AFC Ajax: Tagliafico (2/0 d, suspended), Sinkgraven (0/0 d), Veltman (0/0 d), Dolberg (0/0 f), Černý (0/0 f), Bandé (0/0 f)

 

Daily updated injuries and suspensions information from more then 100 football leagues and competitions worldwide at: www.injuriesandsuspensions.com

[betcatalog]

Vidi wants at least two goals to have a chance to qualify, so her job is very difficult. I do not see AEK risk taking, and if she is open from the start, she will have issues behind her, I expect a close match with few goals
AEK ATHEN vs VIDI FC @@ +2.50 Under, odds 1.65

[StevieDay1983]

AEK Athens vs MOL Vidi FC

The first preview for this round of Champions League matches is the tightly contested tie between Greek champions AEK Athens and Hungarian title winners MOL Vidi FC. The first leg ended in a 2-1 win for AEK out in Hungary but can they seal the deal on home turf?

I've been very impressed with this AEK Athens side in this competition. Marinos Ouzounidis did a great job at getting them past SPL champions Celtic in the 3rd Qualifying Round and his players did exactly what was needed in the first leg of this Play-Off Round tie to get the result.

MOL Vidi FC have proved they are a team that should not be under-estimated. Marko Nikolic has got a team that has a capacity stadium of just 14,000 into Europe's elite competition and then seen them progress past the likes of F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg, Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria, and Malmo FF of Sweden to reach this stage. Make no mistake, they are still very much in this tie but conceding two away goals could be the killing blow.

AEK have shown they know how to defend a lead and I think they'll be shutting this game out from the first minute. The away goals advantage means they have one goal in the bank so it makes total sense for them to sit back, soak up the MOL Vidi attacks and then hit them on the break. I'm expecting a low-scoring game where AEK could snatch a win by sucker punching the Hungarian side as they push to try and get back in this tie.

AEK to Win @ 1.57 with Betfred

Total Goals Scored Under 2.5 @ 1.68 with Unibet

@vasilli07, @Xcout, @Icongene, @KikoCy, @DrBetter, @Duuc, @DrO, @immortal--, @Notorious, @betcatalog, @KingSoccertips, @discipline, @Pep004, @HastGill1, @ElPrincipito007, @salmonman, @DW_United, @allthethings, @MightyWell, @liamcorrigan86, @mijOsim, @dorleywilliams, @soccerprediction123, @jamiedavies02, @TOTTI3, @LePapo, @seifer365, @MPLouis, @Jack A, @JJG, @Pipoca, @neilovan, @wcz, @newjack, @matt-e-matticle, @EBTA, @cluelessG, @mtom, @Marek76, @allyhibs, and @WinningAdvice, what bets are you guys lining up for these second leg matches? Anything catching the eye?

[Dzontra85]

DrO gave excellent analyst about Red Star - Salzburg game. Bookies dont have any respect for RS. Atmosphere in the team is great. Biggest advantage for us is that players like Stojkovic,Savic,Jovicic,Gobeljic,Srnic .... are huge Red Star fans. Before they start playing for senior team they were going on every game cheering for their team so they play with heart and emotion. They feel this team and you can see desire for our success. We could see teams like Ludogorets for example....they have so many Brazilian players in their squad,and I believe that they are all great players, but they can not love their club as much as local kids who will fight and play with their heart.

Yes Salzburg have more expensive team and much more money but we could see in first match that this is not same Salzburg from 4,5,6 years ago as Red Bull is now more concentrate on Leipzig.

Their is deffo value on RS...some great options like 3.25 for us to qualify....bet365 is giving 41 for RS to qualify on penalties or extra time which will be trying on small stake.  GL all. 

[cluelessG]

I've been looking for value bets in this round but have not found any for today's matches. Going with a small stake on Both Teams To Score in Dynamo Kyiv - Ajax - odds 1.57 with pinnacle. Ajax keep scoring in CL and Dynamo managed to score in each of their CL matches as well. Not impressed with Dynamo's defence (they were very lucky to keep a clean sheet at home in the previous CL round). But I believe with home support and a few excellent players (e.g. Verbic) Dynamo should be able to score again. I would have loved odds above 1.65.

[Magic0024]

Football Facts and Streaks regarding Champions League

PSV Eindhoven has over 2.5 goals in their last 7 games in all competitions.
Red Star has under 2.5 goals in their last 5 away games in all competitions.
RB Salzburg won their last 12 home games in all competitions.
PAOK scored in last 7 home games in all competitions.
Benfica scored in last 31 games in all competitions.
PSV Eindhoven has over 2.5 goals in their last 8 home games in all competitions.

You can find interesting 51 Football Betting Streaks for 28.08.2018 on this link ... http://eurofootballrumours.com/football-facts-and-streaks-28-08-2018-11029

[StevieDay1983]

PAOK vs Benfica

Well, after AEK Athens lost their discipline against MOL Vidi FC tonight to cost one of our tips, I'm going to try to rake back some profit by going out on a limb in this 8pm kick-off between Greek side PAOK and Portuguese club Benfica being played at the Toumba Stadium.

The first leg was a surprise 1-1 draw in Portugal and it gives Razvan Lucescu's side a fantastic opportunity to qualify for the Champions League group stages alongside fellow Greek Super League side AEK Athens. They might hold the advantage over Benfica but this is a Benfica side that should not be ruled out.

PAOK have been impressive in their home ties against Basel and Spartak Moscow in the previous rounds of this competition. They have turned their home stadium into a place that is difficult to come to for opposition teams. If they can keep a clean sheet at home in this game then they qualify for the Champions League group stage. It's a hell of an incentive for their back-line.

Benfica still possess talent such as Ruben Dias, Haris Seferovic, and Franco Cervi but this is not a Benfica side that rivals their great sides over the years. Rui Vitoria's men are hanging on to their place in this competition by a thread. That late equaliser by Amr Warda in the first leg could come back to haunt them.

It's a tough one to call. Can we imagine Benfica going out to unfancied PAOK? It's entirely possible. I'm not sure these sides will be separated after 90 minutes. I'm tempted to back a draw and then the winners coming in extra-time or on penalties. It's a finely balanced tie but PAOK are going to be very tough to beat in their own back yard. Not too much value here but a couple of tips where it seems like there's some money to earn.

BTTS @ 1.85 with SportingBet

PAOK +1 @ 1.62 with Betway

[betcatalog]

PAOK may have the lead because of the away goals but it is required to look better on the pitch than the first match and to take advantage of the hot Touba. I expect an open match and both teams to score, as they did in the first match
PAOK THESSALONIKI vs SL BENFICA @@ Both team to score, odds 1.75

[DrO]

I still don't know how we pulled this out but frankly i don't care much. I was so wasted last night.
We are back where we belong.