Aris (Cyp) vs Rakow (Pol) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-08-14 17:00.
A date with either Copenhagen or Sparta Prague awaits the victor of this UEFA Champions League (UCL) third round qualification tie, although it is Aris Limassol with the bulk of the work to do after falling to a 2-1 defeat in the first leg. The silver lining for the hosts is the fact they boast both home advantage and the ability to fully focus on this fixture, with the Cypriot league due to start later this week.
No matter what happens, Aris have at the very least secured European group stage football in some capacity for the first time in their history. They’d much prefer it was in the UCL than Europe’s third-tier competition though, and you’d foolish to back against them at least giving it a cracking go here after scoring 14 times in their four competitive games this season en route to lifting the Cypriot Super Cup and putting BATE to the sword.
In contrast, Raków Częstochowa’s domestic campaign has already begun in a rather tepid fashion, failing to win the Polish Super Cup before posting a mixed three-game start to their Ekstraklasa title defence (W1, D1, L1). The fixture makers haven’t been particularly kind to Raków either, with the maiden Polish champions having to make the approximate 3000km journey on the back of an away game.
That shouldn’t particularly faze the visitors though, with Raków never losing a European third qualifying round game within 90 minutes (W3, D2), although they’ve only secured what will be a maiden European group stage appearance after their fairytale title win last season. Much like their hosts, Raków would hope that dream can continue in Europe’s top competition, and an overall imperious record in Europe (W11, D4, L2) suggests a date with destiny in the play-off may await.
Players to watch: Yannick Gomis scored three of Aris’ 11-goal haul in the previous round of UCL qualifying, and with four goals from five career appearances in Europe, he’ll be hungry for more. Trying to outdo him will be Raków midfielder Vladyslav Kochergin who has the opportunity to notch three-straight scoring appearances for the first time since leaving Ukraine after scoring in either the first or last ten minutes in back-to-back games.
Hot stat: RakĂłw have kept five clean sheets across their eight all-time away European qualifiers.