APOEL (Cyp) vs Slovan Bratislava (Svk) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2024-08-12 17:00.
[p]Slovan Bratislava did what was expected of them at home to APOEL in the first leg of this UEFA Champions League (UCL) third qualifying round tie courtesy of an own goal and a potentially crucial stoppage-time screamer from Róbert Mak. Despite a promising start and a chance to open the scoring early, APOEL’s seven-year wait to return to the main stage of a UCL will be prolonged further unless they can overturn the deficit in Strovolos. [/p]
[p]An extra-time struggle may be the best that APOEL can realistically hope for, as recent form across all major competitions suggests that a three-goal victory is a remote possibility at best. Not only have the Cypriot side failed to score more than twice in each of their last 17 competitive outings (W7, D5, L5), one has to go back to their run to the 2019/20 UCL qualifying play-off round to find the last time that they won a home match in either of UEFA’s top two competitions by a 2+ goal margin.   [/p]
[p]Their Slovakian opponents are one step closer to their inaugural group/league stage appearance at a UCL, and should they maintain their advantage, a play-off tie with either Midtjylland or Ferencváros awaits. Wednesday’s 2-0 home victory extended their unbeaten start in 2024/25 to seven games in all competitions (W6, D1), and they’ve helpfully been handed a weekend without Slovakian league commitments to prepare for this important trip.[/p]
[p]Back-to-back away defeats in qualifying rounds saw them drop down into the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage last season, so they’ll certainly be hoping to avoid anything close to a repeat of last August’s visit to Cyprus – a 6-2 loss to Aris Limassol that cancelled out a home-leg win! [/p]
[p]Players to watch: APOEL will be desperate for Dieumerci Ndongala to end his drought, particularly as all eight of his competitive goalscoring appearances last season coincided with the club winning. Slovan midfielder Július Szöke started on the bench in the previous leg of this tie, but as a scorer in Aris’ 6-2 win over his current employers last term, he could offer some additional insight into what to expect on this trip to Cyprus.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Of APOEL’s 17 consecutive competitive matches without a 3+ goal haul to their name, 14 also produced fewer than 2.5 total goals. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]