Does Dynamo Kyiv go ahead in Lodz?
It is clearly a competitive disadvantage that teams from Ukraine are carrying around with them in qualifying for the European group stages. No football matches can be played at home at the moment. The national league remains on ice and so Dynamo Kyiv will have to play their home game in the Champions League play-offs against Benfica Lisbon once again in Lodz, Poland.
It would be quite a sensation if Kiev, who were in second place when the Ukrainian season was cancelled, qualify for the top flight. There is a great deal of solidarity with the Ukrainians almost all over Europe, but this will come to an end, at least from a sporting point of view, with the Benfica Lisbon team on Wednesday, as the Portuguese, for their part, will be looking to take the final step towards the Champions League.
The Portuguese have come out of the starting blocks superbly this season and those very starting holes are perhaps the cue for our betting in this first leg. If Roger Schmidt’s team manage to bring their pace to the pitch from the start, then you could even think about betting on HT/FT of the Portuguese in the match between Dynamo Kiev and Benfica Lissabon.
Dynamo Kiev – Statistics & current form
Dynamo Kiev have the problem at the moment that they can hardly recruit foreign professionals because the sporting situation in Ukraine remains unclear. Nevertheless, Mircea Lucescu’s team wants to enter the group stage of the Champions League for the third time in a row. So far, the Ukrainians have more than held their own in the two previous qualifying rounds.
Two times via extra time
Two times Dynamo Kyiv had to go to extra time in the second leg, beating Fenerbahce Istanbul and Sturm Graz on both occasions. However, that also means that in the regular season they won only one of their four matches in the two qualifying rounds. That’s why we don’t look at the odds for a home win between Dynamo Kiev and Benfica Lisbon first.
After winning the first leg 1-0 against Sturm Graz, Mircea Lucescu’s team visited Austria for the return leg last week. After the 0:1 after 90 minutes, it needed another energy performance. In extra time it was Konstantyn Vivcharenko and Viktor Tsygankov who shot the Ukrainians to a 2-1 victory and into the play-offs.
However, this match in Graz not only cost them energy, but also two players. Captain Sergiy Sydorchuk and Denys Garmash will have to serve a yellow suspension and will only be able to play in the return match in Lisbon. In addition, Volodymyr Kostevych and Vladislav Supryaga will not be available due to injuries.
Predicted line-up of Dynamo Kiev:
Bushchan – Dubinchak, Syrota, Zabarnyi, Kedziora – Andriyevski – Buyalskyi, Shaparenko, Shepelev, Tsygankov – Besedin – Coach: Lucescu
Last matches played by Dynamo Kiev:
Champions League Qualification
10/08/2022 – Sturm Graz 1 – 2 Dynamo Kiev
04/08/2022 – Dynamo Kiev 1 – 0 Sturm Graz
Club friendlies
30/07/2022 – Everton 3 – 0 Dynamo Kiev
Champions League Qualifier
27/07/2022 – Fenerbahçe 1 – 2 Dynamo Kiev
21/07/2022 – Dynamo Kiev 0 – 0 Fenerbahçe
Benfica Lisbon – Statistics & current form
It’s a very special game for Roman Yaremchuk. The Benfica attacker trained in Dynamo Kiev’s youth academy and has played with much of their upcoming opponents as a young talent. During the 90 minutes, however, the old rope will have to be put to rest, because of course the Ukrainian wants to take his team to the Champions League.
Winning streak at the beginning of the season
The Eagles have reached the group stage of the top flight 12 times in the last 13 years. Furthermore, the Portuguese have lost only one of their last eight away games in the European Cup. In addition, Roger Schmidt’s team has won all four of its competitive matches this season. Therefore, our tendency in the match between Dynamo Kiev and Benfica Lisbon is to predict an away win.
Last weekend, however, Benfica struggled for a long time at promoted Casa Pia in the national league. Goncalo Ramos scored the only goal of the game after one hour and helped his team to three points. However, it was obvious that the Eagles had a lot of problems with a deep standing opponent. Nicolas Otamendi was shown the red card in the final phase, but this will have no consequences for Wednesday.
Joao Mario and Alejandro Grimaldo are both injured. It is conceivable that they will be given a break by Roger Schmidt. David Neres, who knows Ukrainian football well from his stint in Donetsk, is also unlikely to be an option yet. Certainly not included are Lucas Verissimo and Joao Victor, who will continue to be absent due to injuries.
Predicted line-up of Benfica Lisbon:
Vlachodimos – Vertonghen, Morato, Otamendi, Gilberto – Florentino, Fernandez – Chiquinho, Rafa Silva, Goncalves – Ramos – Coach: Schmidt
Last matches played by Benfica Lisbon:
Liga Portugal
13/08/2022 – Casa Pia 0 – 1 Benfica
Champions League Qualifier
10/08/2022 – FC Midtjylland 1 – 3 Benfica
Liga Portugal
06/08/2022 – Benfica 4 – 0 Arouca
Champions League Qualifier
03/08/2022 – Benfica 4 – 1 FC Midtjylland
Friendly club matches
27/07/2022 – Benfica 3 – 2 Newcastle
Dynamo Kiev – Benfica Lisbon Direct comparison / H2H record
This is the first time Dynamo Kyiv and Benfica Lisbon have faced each other in Champions League qualifying. All six previous matches took place in the group stage of the top flight. The direct comparison speaks relatively clearly in favour of the Portuguese, who are 4:1 ahead after victories. Only once did the two rivals part with a draw.
The last two duels took place last season. The first leg, in Kiev at the time, ended in a goalless draw. The return match in Lisbon was won 2-0 by the Eagles after goals from Roman Yaremchuk and Gilberto. The Portuguese team advanced to the last 16, while Kiev were eliminated from the group. It is striking that in the six direct duels, both teams never scored.
Dynamo Kiev – Benfica Lisbon Tip
Last season Dynamo Kiev and Benfica Lisbon met in the group stage of the Champions League. This year, one of the two clubs will miss out on the top flight and will have to play in the Europa League.
The Ukrainians are struggling in the qualifiers. The national league has not started and only by the skin of their teeth and twice via extra time did Mircea Lucescu’s team even make it into the playoffs. Therefore, we do not expect any bets on a home win for the Ukrainians in the match between Dynamo Kiev and Benfica Lisbon to be successful.
The Eagles, on the other hand, have made a great start to the season. In the qualification for the Champions League, there were two clear victories against Midtjylland and also in the Portuguese league, Roger Schmidt’s team won the two opening matches. Therefore, we have decided to play the odds on an away win in the match between Dynamo Kiev and Benfica Lisbon
