Dnipro-1 vs AEK Larnaca prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2023-02-22 17:45.
It must be fourth time lucky for Dnipro if there’s to be a happy ending to their series of games against AEK Larnaca. Oleksandr Kucher’s men were eliminated from the Europa League (UEL) at the final stage of qualification in this H2H before a 1-0 defeat last week made it three straight defeats against the Cypriot side, meaning it’s win or bust for the Ukrainian ‘hosts’.
Playing at the home of Slovakian second-tier side FK Košice due to the ongoing war in Ukraine isn’t ideal for Dnipro, who’ve also had no competitive action between mid-November and last week. That won’t have helped their cause, but they’ll hope to have shaken the rust off as they look to emulate a pair of victories over Cypriot champions Apollon in the Europa Conference League (UECL) group stage.
AEK Larnaca’s earlier UEL jaunt at Dnipro’s expense was short-lived, but their sole victory in the group stage (W1, D2, L3) was enough to secure this historic first European knockout tie for the Cypriot title chasers. Manager José Luis Oltra could perhaps be accused of prioritising this fixture as a number of changes to his starting lineup saw their 15-match unbeaten run of Cypriot league games come crashing down over the weekend.
Although the visitors hold a slender lead, they’re buoyed by a run of just two defeats across their last seven European away games (W2, D3, L2), with both victories coming in Poland and Slovakia against Ukrainian opponents. AEK may need a hatful of goals to keep that streak alive though, as they’ve followed up a run of four straight away clean sheets by conceding seven times in their last four competitive away games.
Players to watch: Dnipro’s Artem Dovbyk was the UECL group stage top-scorer with five goals, although only one of those served to open the scoring. AEK have full-back Ángel García’s late goal to thank for their advantage, he’s now scored and received a booking in two of his last four appearances.
Hot stat: Only one of AEK’s last eight competitive matches was goalless at the interval.