AEK Larnaca vs Dyn. Kyiv prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2022-10-26 16:45.
Extending their UEFA Europa League (UEL) campaign past Christmas may now be out of the equation for AEK Larnaca, but the Cypriots are still within touching distance of knock-out European football for the first time in their history. Thatâs because the Green Yellows know a draw in their penultimate Group B fixture will be enough to secure a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) preliminary knock-out round.
JosĂ© Luis Oltraâs side sit in third place in the group, three points clear of opponents for this match Dynamo Kyiv, who they beat 1-0 in Poland in the reverse fixture last month. That should give them a boost after an inconsistent run of form that has yielded just five wins in their last 12 outings (D1, L6), culminating in a 1-0 loss away to APOEL on Saturday, while they have also won just one of their previous eight home group games in European football (D2, L5).
For Dynamo, itâs win or bust if they want to drop down into the UECL, but even a victory might not prove to be enough to progress, given a match day six showdown with Rennes lies in wait. The Blue and Whites, twice winners of the European Cup Winnersâ Cup, sit bottom of the group after four defeats in a row and are now on a run of 11 successive fixtures without a win in European away group games (D3, L8).
The heat is also on manager Mircea Lucescu, whose side have picked up just ten points from their opening seven games domestically while winning just three of their last 13 fixtures in all competitions (D1, L9). A 1-1 stalemate with Vorskia on Sunday only heightened that pressure, with the boss describing his players after that game as ârigidâ and admitting they âmade many mistakes and missed many goalsâ.
Players to watch: ĂdĂĄm GyurcsĂł, who scored Larnacaâs winner in the reverse fixture, has netted three goals and grabbed two assists from his eight European games this season (W4, D2, L2). Meanwhile, Vitaliy Buyalskyi has lost just two of his goalscoring appearances for Dynamo since 2016! (W36, D6).
Hot streak: The team that has scored first has won Larnacaâs last 11 matches.