A good first leg and bad odds despite everything

The first match between the two national champions was not for the faint-hearted. In an extremely close game, it was on a knife’s edge for a long time and was ultimately decided by minor details. The omens are actually clearly distributed. Nevertheless, Apoel Nicosia and Slovan Bratislava are more likely to win at home

The two teams played a very respectable game in the first leg. On both sides, the coaches don’t think much of absolute hurrah soccer. This is reflected in most of the results, whether in tests or competitive matches

The last few matches between the two opponents speak more than clearly in favor of the men from Central Europe. They have had more successes in the same period. The Cypriot champions can hardly keep up. Nevertheless, the odds on Apoel Nicosia and Slovan Bratislava favor a home win.

Apoel Nicosia – Statistics & current form

Everything is new at APOEL. As always, the question of performance follows. As is usually the case in the Cypriot league, there was a veritable “change of scenery” on the bench and pitch in the summer. There is hardly a league that swaps its players back and forth as casually as the one on the Mediterranean island.

Fittingly, David Gallego, the new coach of the Cypriots’ record champions, has just been poached by league rivals Anorthosis. He stands for a rather reactive style of soccer, which comes across as a 4-4-2 with a double 6 or a 4-2-3-1. There was little evidence of this in the first leg, at least in the line-up.

He is now in charge of a squad with a total of 34 players, 22 of whom are new. As is usually the case, it is a multicultural squad that has experience, but also quite a bit of age under its belt. It is probably above all their experience in European Cup matches that keeps Apoel Nicosia and Slovan Bratislava’s predictions of a home win high

Match practice beats testing: Is APOEL more resilient in the second leg?

It’s easy to see that the Cypriot champions have quality on paper. With players such as Max Meyer or Youssef El Arabi, they can certainly work as a spearhead. The main problem, however, is their lack of familiarity.

Although they were not without a chance in the first leg, they came second in almost every category. They had less of the ball (45%), fewer shots (4:7) and, above all, fewer goals (0:2). This is where the biggest disadvantage of the teams from the south became clear. The Cypriots are still a long way from a league start.

Despite this disadvantage, the odds for Apoel Nicosia against Slovan Bratislava are still in favor of the hosts from the south. However, given that Slovan have already played both nationally and internationally, a massive improvement will be needed to ensure that the Champions League is not only on TV for the Cypriots at the beginning of August.

Predicted line-up of Apoel Nicosia:
Belec – Susic, Petrovic, Dvali, Quintilla – Meyer, Kostadinov, Tejera – Marquinhos, El Arabi, Ndongala

Slovan Bratislava – Statistics & current form

The Slovakian champions have taken a big step towards the next round. Can they get it over the line in the sauna?

The sky blue team has been working according to the simple yet relatively apt maxim “Never change a winning system” for several years now. And their success proves them right. There were few changes to both the head coach and the active staff in the summer.

Vladimir Weiss has been working in the Slovakian capital since May 2021 and has been playing with his squad in a defensively compact 4-2-3-1 since then. It’s more like home cooking with physicality and automatisms.

With Apoel Nicosia and Slovan Bratislava, the prediction of plain soccer definitely applies more than in many other games. Considering that, as mentioned, there were only cosmetic changes to the personnel and investments in the future in the summer, it’s business as usual. Relatively few goals and relatively much success

A picture-book start: Can Slovan keep it up?

The first encounter between the two clubs was close and competitive, but in retrospect the perfect game for SK. They dominated the ball and their opponents and conceded little, especially in the final third. The result was, logically, a clean sheet.

What seemed far more important, however, was the exploitation of what the opponents offered. The lead through an own goal by the Cypriots was somewhat fortunate, but was also due to the physical soccer and, above all, the constant working of the opposition’s back line.

The question now is whether they can do this twice. On the one hand, Mr. Weiss prefers reactive soccer against bigger opponents and on the other, there is no need to take unnecessary risks. However, it is also important to remember that the game should not be approached lightly. The games in Cyprus in August are dreaded due to the heat and the last thing Slovan need is overtime. A solid defense and few offensive actions seem to be the most likely option.

Predicted line-up for Slovan Bratislava:
Takac – Zuberu, Wimmer, Kashia, Blackman – Tolic, Bajric – Kucka, Weiss, Barseghyan – Strelec

Apoel Nicosia – Slovan Bratislava Direct comparison / H2H result

The direct duel between the two clubs has been enriched by another episode since last week. However, the last meeting between the teams dates back to 2011. The statistics read well, but the present is more in favour of the Slovaks, even if the betting odds for Apoel Nicosia v Slovan Bratislava only show this to a limited extent.

Apoel Nicosia – Slovan Bratislava betting tip

Both clubs are reluctant to play with an open goal. However, the late goal in the first leg means the hosts will have to open up a little. The question will be whether this ends in counter-attacks or more forward pressure for the Cypriots. In tight scenarios like these, an odds boost can sometimes wake up rather tired bids.

If most bookmakers have their way, the Apoel Nicosia vs. Slovan Bratislava duel will end with bet 1 and a home win. Quite possible, although this is not yet the equivalent of promotion for the islanders. After the first leg, however, it is quite possible that there will be overtime here. But don’t expect a flood of goals. We think a maximum of two goals is conceivable, whereby a 1:1 result bet makes the most sense in my eyes. For this reason, the approaches in the top tip table have also been selected