Champions League Quali, 2nd round, first leg, Wednesday, 31.07.2024 at 20:00
Sometimes the fate of a team is decided in the first leg. This was the case in last week’s clash between two traditional Eastern European clubs in the 2nd Champions League qualifying phase.
I was surprised at how strongly the Ukrainians played. In my Partizan Belgrade Dynamo Kiev rematch prediction, however, I expect the visitors to take a more relaxed approach this time given their comfortable lead.
You certainly don’t need our decades of expertise to know that Dynamo Kiev will face Glasgow Rangers in the 3rd round.
The upcoming opponent has already been determined, and after the bloodcurdling 2:6 from the first leg, I dare to doubt that Partizan Belgrade can do anything despite home advantage.
A week ago, the Ukrainians were simply far too dominant from the outset to completely reverse this difference in quality in such a short space of time
Dynamo Kiev dominated the first leg at will, a fact that must be acknowledged without envy by the Serbian fans.
The Ukrainians had 67% of possession and also clearly dominated the shooting duel with 23:4.
Interestingly, while both Partizan goals were scored by Saldanha, there were no two-goal scorers for Kiev. They scored exactly three goals before and after the break.
Clearly, after such a dominant performance, the only question is whether Dynamo will attack from the start again or let Belgrade have their way…
The theory that the Ukrainians could already be resting players for the 3rd round is not so far-fetched. Especially as they will have to do without one player for better or worse.
Midfielder Volodymyr Shepelev suffered a painful ankle injury just before the first leg against Partizan and is expected to be out for up to a month.
Oleksandr Tymchyk, on the other hand, is the only other Kiev player who is doubtful for this game.
However, given the state of the game, coach Oleksandr Shovkovskyi could consider resting a number of other injury-prone players, including the ageing midfield boss Andriy Yarmolenko.
Partizan, meanwhile, must fight harder than ever to be recognized at home as the second strongest power behind city rivals Red Star and FK Crvena zvezda.
In view of the high deficit and the expected cautious style of play of the Ukrainians, a “both teams meeting” bet for Wednesday interests me at least as much as the Betano bonus.
Partizan are clearly better at home. This is also proven by the fact that they have not scored in only one of their last 14 home matches
As far as progression is concerned, the matter is probably decided. But if, like me, you expect the Serbs to score at least one goal, why not give them a narrow win or at least a draw?
The Ukrainians would certainly have no objection to that and the profitable Partizan Belgrade Dynamo Kiev odds from the bookmakers pave the way for a corresponding bet.
After all, you should bear in mind that the betting markets offer surprisingly high odds of around 4.00 for both a home win and a draw…
No one can deny that the Ukrainians were clearly the better team last week.
But after a 2:6 first-leg win, I personally think results such as 2:1, 1:1, 2:2 or perhaps even 3:1 for the hosts on Wednesday are very plausible.
The special thing about these four outcomes is that a corresponding combination bet with the right provider can lead to an extremely interesting payout.
Because the combination of a “Both teams meet” bet with a “Double chance 1X” bet allows you to achieve odds of around 2.90 if you are successful.
However, this would also mean that Partizan are unlikely to lose their sixth European Cup match against Dynamo Kyiv in this case.
Alternatively, you could also consider an “Over 2.5 goals” bet, as this mark has been exceeded in four of the previous five competitive matches between the two traditional clubs
Conclusion: In the upcoming clash between Partizan Belgrade and Dynamo Kiev, many pundits expect the Ukrainians to hold back due to their large lead.
Partizan will have more possession and a greater share of the game, but their susceptibility to mistakes at the back will make it difficult to avoid conceding goals altogether…
Therefore, the bottom line is that despite a good performance, Partizan will again allow at least one goal from the Ukrainians.
My Partizan Belgrade Dynamo Kiev betting tip: DC 1X & both score
