In the week when almost all of Europe’s major leagues will start again – pending La Liga and Serie A, which will be delayed by another seven days – the preliminary rounds of the Champions League continue. On Wednesday 3 August, the remaining five matches in the first leg of the third qualifying round will be played. In short, the play-offs, which in a couple of weeks’ time will put the last group stage places up for grabs, are fast approaching. Among the first teams to take the field is Bodo/Glimt. Kjetil Knudsen’s Norwegians, who were top contenders in last year’s Conference League – they played four times against Jose Mourinho’s Roma – were the talk of the town in the second round, beating Linfield (Northern Ireland), who won 1-0 in the first leg, by eight goals (8-0).
The comeback was to be, and the comeback was to be, and in the meantime the yellow-and-whites are also moving up a gear in the league, moving closer to the top. Watch out for Zalgiris, though: the Lithuanians surprisingly knocked off top-ranked Malmo, keeping their goal unbroken in both the first leg and the return leg. The feeling is that Bodo/Glimt will not make the mistake of underestimating them in a match in which the green-and-whites will struggle to contain Knudsen’s attack this time.
Ferencvaros stage in Azerbaijan
Kady of Qarabag ©️Ansafoto
Another interesting challenge is the one between Qarabag and Ferencvaros. The Azeris came out on top in the double-header against Zurich, scoring a total of five goals and conceding four. Also very prolific are the Hungarians, who overwhelmed Slovan Bratislava 4-1 a week ago. There is likely to be no shortage of goals on this occasion either, although Qarabag seem to have something more than the green-and-whites. On the other hand, the match between Maccabi Haifa and Apollon Limassol is less balanced: The Israeli champions liquidated Olympiacos in the second round and are therefore favourites against the Cypriots.
Dinamo Kiev, who were able to beat Fenerbahçe in the return leg in Istanbul in extra time as underdogs, are also within reach. The Austrians of Sturm Graz may, however, cause them some problems. Finally, Dejan Stankovic’s ambitious Red Star host Pyunik: in Belgrade the total number of goals will be at least three.
Champions League 2022/2023: likely winners
Bodo/Glimt (in Bodo/Glimt-Zalgiris, 6pm)
Maccabi Haifa (in Maccabi Haifa v Apollon Limassol, 19:00)
Dinamo Kiev (in Dinamo Kiev-Sturm Graz, 20:00)
The matches with at least one goal per team
Qarabag-Ferencvaros, 6pm
Dinamo Kiev-Sturm Graz, 20:00
The matches with at least three goals in total
Bodo/Glimt-Zalgiris, 18:00
Red Star-Pyunik Yerevan, 20:45