Champions League, Qualification, 2nd Round, First Leg, Tuesday, 22.07.2025 at 20:15
How does a team go into a Champions League qualifying match after messing up their dress rehearsal 1-4? I will address this question in the following lines, because there is no clear favorite in my Slovan Bratislava Zrinjski Mostar tip.
Admittedly, based purely on the name, I also tend to favor the hosts of the first leg. But: Before the start of a league season, it is virtually impossible to make a clear prediction. In that respect, there is only one thing left for me to do: go for the classic “both teams to score.”
A geographical digression? We really don’t need one in the case of Slovan Bratislava, because we are likely to accompany the top Slovakian club through the international competitions year after year.
In 2024/25, they finally made it to the group stage of the Champions League. The result: eight defeats, seven goals scored, 27 conceded – it was a trip to forget.
We see Slovan in the Champions League qualifiers on a regular basis, with everything from first-round elimination to the playoffs. Let’s try to find out something about their current form.
The squad of Vladimir Weiss, who has been at the helm for over four years, has not changed significantly, and no money has been invested anyway.
Looking at the friendly matches (I’m not counting the one against Raca, who were completely outclassed), the latest result against Midtjylland raises particular questions.
The Slovaks lost 1-4, having previously slipped to a 0-1 defeat against Wisla Krakow. The reigning national champions, Bratislava, are by far the most successful club in Slovakia, but have yet to find their rhythm.
Interestingly, they have already faced Zrinjski Mostar once before, and not so long ago. In 2022/23 and 2023/24, their paths crossed once in the Conference League qualifiers and once in the Champions League.
The result: close, damn close duels. In 2023/24, Slovan won 1-0 and advanced with another 2-2 draw, while a year earlier, the Slovaks secured victory in the end with a penalty shootout (first 0-1, then 8-6).
Could these matches be the reason why the bookmakers are not taking such a clear stance? As far as Tuesday’s victory is concerned, we are seeing average odds of 1.65 to 4.70.
If you want to bet on Slovan advancing, you can even secure odds of just under 1.50. If Mostar advances to the third round, the odds climb to 2.55.
This assessment suggests that we may be in for a fairly close match. Zrinjski Mostar from Bosnia made its international debut in 2023/24, played in the group stage of the Conference League – and was eliminated immediately.
The team has never made it to the third round of CL qualifying – two years ago, Slovan Bratislava prevented them from making this historic leap.
The season is yet to start in Bosnia, so Mostar was able to focus fully on the Champions League qualifiers. These began in the first round against Virtus Acquaviva.
2-0 and 2-1, Mostar had no trouble at all. Both times, the team went into halftime with a 1-0 lead. Nemanja Bilbija scored three of the four goals, so he’s definitely one to watch.
Slovan Bratislava vs. Zrinjski Mostar – once again! These two teams now face each other on a regular basis, with the Slovaks coming out on top so far – but clear results were not to be expected.
I admit: I find it quite difficult to assess these two teams accurately. Mostar got off to a flying start in the first qualifying round, but their opponents were no match for Slovan. On the other hand, they have a striker in top form.
At the same time, Slovan lost their last real test before the start of the Champions League season 1-4 to Midtjylland. That’s why I’ve decided not to favor anyone here, but to go with:
Both clubs will score!
