⚽UEFA Champions League Discussion Thread -- 2023/24 | Prelim Qualifiers

[Docnaster]

Panathinaikos made little surprise by winning against Marseille.
-snip
Rangers won against Servette, but 2:1 result isn't something very confident. 2nd leg game should be interesting.

Panathinaikos won important match, not sure that they will pass this round, but this is looking as best fixture in this round

Rangers started good, scored two fast goals, but Servette is obviously good enough to pass through at home, win over Gent wasn't by accident
and Gent won 5:0 their first Conference league match, Pogon paid for early knock-out from CL qualies

I think Panathinaikos got a big win in the first match against Marseille. On paper, Marseille seemed to be the favourite, but missing a red card disrupted all team dynamics. Now Marseille will have to work harder to pass the tour in France. Although the Greek team is more effective throughout the match, I can say that their shooting statistics are weak.

The result of the Panathinaikos game against Marseille was very surprising and shocking especially to neutrals because many had predicted that Marseille are gonna win the match with ease since they have a better squad in terms of quality.
Despite the result, I expect Marseille to beat the Greek side by better goal difference when the two teams meet in France for the second leg of the tie.

[1714700341]

1714700341

[1714700341]

1714700341

[Volgastallion]

For me it wasnt shocking result, Maseille always suffer so much against weakers teams in european competitions, but i think they are gonna pass to the next stage without so much drama in the home game, a win 2-0 or something like that in Marseille.

Im waiting the next week for the comeback games, where the big bets can be placed.

[Distraction]

It is still not a very bad result for Marseille truthfully. Despite the red card and bad performance in general they still lost by only 1-0 to Panathinaikos. In France I will be expecting a Marseille dominance and they should be advancing to next round after that. Besides Marseille are playing with a new manager now - Marcelino.

This is still an adaptation process for him as he will be aiming to make his system work well for Marseille. Hopefully we would see showing them a dominant effort next time. Otherwise it would be a nightmarish start for the French team. 

Aubameyang wasn't effective in this match either but I expect an improved performance in the second leg.

[Westinhome]

The result of the Panathinaikos game against Marseille was very surprising and shocking especially to neutrals because many had predicted that Marseille are gonna win the match with ease since they have a better squad in terms of quality.
Despite the result, I expect Marseille to beat the Greek side by better goal difference when the two teams meet in France for the second leg of the tie.

It was shocking surprise to most of the people in the community,but it was happened by the good luck of Panathinaikos.Because most of the people think the game will favor the Marseille because of their team members.Bernard the goal scoring person made the game favor to the Panathinaikos to win the game.The Panathinaikos made the good move by choosing him to the squad and he fulfilled the purpose for he was hired to the team.So the Marseille should try his best on the next match with the Panathinaikos.

[morvillz7z]

As for the matches later today, i've got my eyes on btts and O2.5 on the Rakow/Aris match. Will try to live bet it, odds seem like a gift considering how attacking both sides are.

I'm most likely sticking with the same game and markets as last week, if it ain't broke, don't fix it...odds are somewhat worse compared to 1st leg, but still playable. Aris had a decent first half, but missed to convert on a few chances...their defense though is not that good, and Rakow has proved so far in those qualifiers that they can punish mistakes.

Another match i'm closely monitoring is Maccabi and Slovan, open 1st leg with tons of chances for both teams. Maccabi is solid offensively, and Slovan dangerous on set pieces. The Over looks like a lock for me.

The most important question is, can Klaksvik make it to the final playoff?    They've already made history becoming the first Faroese team to make the group stage of any competition...i think they are more than capable of squeezing a draw against Molde.  It's hard not to root for them...

[LTU_btc]

All 2nd leg games is played oday, as Wednesday is reserved for UEFA Super Cup. Except Dinamo Zagreb - AEK, it will be their 1st game. Marseille - Panathinaikos will be very interesting game as PAO have 1:2 advantage from 1st game. I expect that Marseille will solve their problems, but odds for their win is a bit low. Haven't checked yet, but I will look at Marseille to qualify odds. Not sure that Servette can eliminate Rangers after loss in 1st leg. My prediction here is BTTS. Galatasaray seems to start getting pace (though they had draw in Turkish league) and I think that it will be high scoring game, so, I go with over 2.5 goals. Braga is almost in next round, but I put money on their win against Backa Topola - it's simply just different level teams. And some money on Maccabi Haifa against Slovan, but I don't write-off Slovan.

The most important question is, can Klaksvik make it to the final playoff?    They've already made history becoming the first Faroese team to make the group stage of any competition...i think they are more than capable of squeezing a draw against Molde.  It's hard not to root for them...

I think it's possible, in 1st leg they played well and their win wasn't just luck. Klaksvik to qualify @3.10 looks like good option, maybe it's worth to put some money on them. Offcourse, they're not favorites, but same situation was against Ferencvaros and Hacken.

[buwaytress]

I was actually quite disappointed not to see big odds tonight as I was able to place bets, not the case for the past several weeks.

The most important question is, can Klaksvik make it to the final playoff?    They've already made history becoming the first Faroese team to make the group stage of any competition...i think they are more than capable of squeezing a draw against Molde.  It's hard not to root for them...

I think it's possible, in 1st leg they played well and their win wasn't just luck. Klaksvik to qualify @3.10 looks like good option, maybe it's worth to put some money on them. Offcourse, they're not favorites, but same situation was against Ferencvaros and Hacken.

They just need to hold on tight now (2-2 agg score with 30 mins to go) and hope they can take it to penalties -- problem is, that was likely their game plan from kickoff, and that was not at all wise. Odds on them to qualify are now 5/1, but still not attractive enough for me

DZG - AEK match is what I'm watching now though -- atmosphere is boom!

[Hvdv]

Panathinaikos made little surprise by winning against Marseille.
-snip
Rangers won against Servette, but 2:1 result isn't something very confident. 2nd leg game should be interesting.

Panathinaikos won important match, not sure that they will pass this round, but this is looking as best fixture in this round

Rangers started good, scored two fast goals, but Servette is obviously good enough to pass through at home, win over Gent wasn't by accident
and Gent won 5:0 their first Conference league match, Pogon paid for early knock-out from CL qualies

I think Panathinaikos got a big win in the first match against Marseille. On paper, Marseille seemed to be the favourite, but missing a red card disrupted all team dynamics. Now Marseille will have to work harder to pass the tour in France. Although the Greek team is more effective throughout the match, I can say that their shooting statistics are weak.

The result of the Panathinaikos game against Marseille was very surprising and shocking especially to neutrals because many had predicted that Marseille are gonna win the match with ease since they have a better squad in terms of quality.
Despite the result, I expect Marseille to beat the Greek side by better goal difference when the two teams meet in France for the second leg of the tie.

The victory of Panathinaikos in the first match was quite a surprise. Today it is even possible to knock out Marseille if they make no mistakes in defense and score a goal in counter attacks. It would be a big surprise if Marseille were eliminated. Of course, the match is in France and I think Marseille will definitely win at the Velodrome.

[casperBGD]

~snip
Braga is almost in next round, but I put money on their win against Backa Topola - it's simply just different level teams.

and you were right, 0:4 at minute 20, as TSC is from some low level football league, but it is questionable how they succeed to be second in Serbian league, will be interesting to see them in Conference league play-off after this

The most important question is, can Klaksvik make it to the final playoff?    They've already made history becoming the first Faroese team to make the group stage of any competition...i think they are more than capable of squeezing a draw against Molde.  It's hard not to root for them...

show in CL is over for KI, Molde passed through, but it was hard as hell
cheered for KI, they showed that it is possible, but play-off would be too much, nevertheless, group stage in Conference is achievable

[MK-74]

Molde vs Galatasaray game will be played next week. The first game will be played in Molde.
Galatasaray will have some difficulty against Molde, but I think we will win.
It wasn't good for Toreira to get a red card tonight.

[CLS63]

Galatasaray have become Molde's opponent by getting a comfortable win today. I think Galatasaray which are much better than Molde in squad quality will qualify for the Champions League groups. I hope I become wrong about this. The surprise of the night for me was AEK's winning away. I wasn't really expecting this.

[LTU_btc]

So, Marseille got eliminated by Panathinaikos. Everything looked fine for Marseille, but they didn't managed to score 3rd goal which would close game. And then disaster happened - Guendouzi touched ball with hand and referee gave penalty and PAO sent game to extra time. Gamewent to penalties where Panathinaikos were more confident. Probably it will be sleepless night for Guendouzi.
Klaksvik Champions league dream is over, but they're in Conference league group already and still can fight for Europa league what is amazing for them. Game against Molde wasn't bad, they had some moments and they weren't far from reaching penalty shootout.
Sparta - Copenhagen game was crazy. It was just 1:1 after 90 minutes and Copenhagen wasn't impressive. Extra time was very exciting, Sparta were leading twice, but both times Copenhagen managed to respond and after all they won game after penalties.

and you were right, 0:4 at minute 20, as TSC is from some low level football league, but it is questionable how they succeed to be second in Serbian league, will be interesting to see them in Conference league play-off after this

Yeah, I'm wondering how they finished 2nd in Serbian league (and Partizan just 4th). I read interesting article somehwere that they're getting funded by Hungarian government, it's very unusual thing.
Anyway, they're already have guaranted spot in Conference league group stage (same as Klaksvik) and still have chance to reach Europa league.

[Pierre 2]

Galatasaray have become Molde's opponent by getting a comfortable win today. I think Galatasaray which are much better than Molde in squad quality will qualify for the Champions League groups. I hope I become wrong about this. The surprise of the night for me was AEK's winning away. I wasn't really expecting this.

I still think Galatasaray has issues mainly with center backs and central midfielders. Only Torreira can fix it in my opinion. Galatasaray bought many different new players lately but they are having issues with team chemistry as well. These may all be combined so Galatasaray may have accidents in that qualifiers match against Molde. Galatasaray is obvious favorite on paper... But I wouldn't personally bet for Galatasaray win.

[Distraction]

Galatasaray have become Molde's opponent by getting a comfortable win today. I think Galatasaray which are much better than Molde in squad quality will qualify for the Champions League groups. I hope I become wrong about this. The surprise of the night for me was AEK's winning away. I wasn't really expecting this.

Galatasaray are playing really different in home matches. This was another example of that. Icardi's ball control and finishing on that goal was really lovely to watch.    He came to Galatasaray without doing training due to his wife's health issues. But thankfully it didn't take him much time to have enough level of match fitness.

He is one of the most important players of the team now. Galatasaray have made really good transfers until now. I expect this squad to be even deadlier to their opponents in time. I also don't think Molde can eliminate Galatasaray in the next round.

But Galatasaray just need to be better in defense every time until the group stage. They will face a bigger challenge in that stage so they need to stay strong.

[CLS63]

Galatasaray have become Molde's opponent by getting a comfortable win today. I think Galatasaray which are much better than Molde in squad quality will qualify for the Champions League groups. I hope I become wrong about this. The surprise of the night for me was AEK's winning away. I wasn't really expecting this.

I still think Galatasaray has issues mainly with center backs and central midfielders. Only Torreira can fix it in my opinion. Galatasaray bought many different new players lately but they are having issues with team chemistry as well. These may all be combined so Galatasaray may have accidents in that qualifiers match against Molde. Galatasaray is obvious favorite on paper... But I wouldn't personally bet for Galatasaray win.

It is still not easy to fully trust them when it comes to betting on them of course. There is some progress on scoring more goals in the tournament. But I agree with the defense. There are still visible problems on defending. If they are having these problems against weaker teams I don't know what they can do against more challenging ones.

This is just the beginning of the season of course. But Okan Buruk had better work on solving the existing problems in defense before facing bigger teams.

[Oneandpure]

Galatasaray are playing really different in home matches. This was another example of that. Icardi's ball control and finishing on that goal was really lovely to watch.    He came to Galatasaray without doing training due to his wife's health issues. But thankfully it didn't take him much time to have enough level of match fitness.

He is one of the most important players of the team now. Galatasaray have made really good transfers until now. I expect this squad to be even deadlier to their opponents in time. I also don't think Molde can eliminate Galatasaray in the next round.

But Galatasaray just need to be better in defense every time until the group stage. They will face a bigger challenge in that stage so they need to stay strong.

Actually no doubt with Galatasaray is favorite team will lead to UEFA Champion League stage for next season, winning aggregate bigger score against Olimpija after winning first leg 3-0 and last match second leg success won 1-0 make easily for Galatasaray lead to last phase of UEFA Champion League play-off round against Molde. First leg will play on Augustus 24 and Galatasaray will away first before one week later will play on their home.

Mauro Icardi have top performance in second leg against Olimpija and he will be Galatasaray players already for second leg to make it easy lead to Champion League round season 2023/24, but have bad news for Galatasaray due red card received by Lucas Torreira last match against Olimpijia and he will be absent for first leg against Molde.

[MK-74]

There are 3 games tomorrow night.

Rakow Czestochowa vs FC Copenhagen
Rangers vs PSV Eindhoven
Royal Antwerp vs AEK

I think FC Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven will win the match easily.
It's hard to say who will win the Antwerp vs AEK

Galatasaray vs Molde on Wednesday. I believe we can beat Molde.
Our biggest problem is that Lucas Torreira won't play because he's suspended.

[slaman29]

I put Royal Antwerp on my ticket, and I chose another Belgium team (Union SG) from Europa League tie, so I am banking all of my hope on Belgium. Switching from French teams and Spanish favorites.

PSV Rangers should be the most exciting though, and I think the Scottish team at home are extremely hard to play with!

[Distraction]

Rangers and PSG played against each other in the Champions League qualifiers last season as well. Rangers were the side to finish the matchup happy. But the competition between the teams was still quite tough. I won't be surprised if we see another tough competition between. For the first leg PSV are the favourite team @2.13.

However there isn't a big gap of odds at the same time. Bookies also expect a close game here. I wonder how PSG will perform especially. Because there was a big improvement in their effort last season. We saw it from their performance in their domestic league also.

They started this season with 2 nice wins in 2 matches in their league also. If they keep up the same work against Rangers too they can even win here by a small score gap.

[morvillz7z]

I'm on vacation, so i'm unlikely to place any bets or even watch the games tonight, but if i were, i'd take Rakow at AH0.0/+0.5 @1.60.  Copenhagen did not wow me in their last two CL away games, Breidablik had numerous chances at home, and Sparta did as well.  Knowing how dangerous the Poles' attack can be, i'm confident they'll get a good enough result before the reverse fixture next week.

Dinamo Zagreb out of the competition, in part due to the incident with their fans in Greece. I thought they had a solid enough squad (and a decent draw) to make CL groups. I see they sold Sutalo to Ajax for $20 mln the other day. Europa League it is then...