The champions from Poland and Denmark want to reach the CL
For exactly six clubs, the dream of the Champions League group stage will come true this season. Twelve of the 46 teams that played matches during qualifying remain. In first and second legs, these clubs will now determine who will snatch the last coveted tickets for the main draw in Europe’s most important club competition.
One of the matches on Tuesday evening will be Rakow Czestochowa against FC Copenhagen. If the home side’s prediction proves correct after 180 minutes of play (plus X), it would be tantamount to the reigning Polish champions making their debut in the select field of participants in the top flight.
However, the title holders from Denmark are considered to have a slightly better chance of advancing, which is of course partly due to the fact that FCK were already represented in the group stage in the previous season and generally have more international experience at this level.
The bottom line, especially in the first leg, between Rakow Czestochowa and FC Copenhagen is a prediction of a rather low-scoring course, because the teams are on par with each other after the previous impressions and will probably not take any incalculable risk in the first match.
Rakow Czestochowa – statistics & current form
The Champions League qualifiers so far are going absolutely according to plan for the Polish champions from Czestochowa in Silesia. Already in round one the Red-Blue had to enter and since then they have already eliminated three clubs. Against Flora Tallinn (1:0, 3:0), Qarabag Agdam (3:2, 1:1) and Aris Limassol (2:1, 1:0), the team of coach Dawid Szwarga has hardly shown any weakness so far and has therefore well deserved its entry into the playoffs.
A look at the results shows that, with the exception of the 3-2 home win over Qarabag Agdam, the Polish side’s matches have not necessarily been spectacular. It should also be noted that even in that five-goal game against the Azerbaijani champions described above, all the goals came after the break.
In five out of six cases, a bet on 0-0 at the break would have paid off, and in five of the six games played to date, a maximum of three goals were scored. From this, we can already derive the first approaches for our top tips. For example, on Tuesday evening in the duel Rakow Czestochowa and FC Copenhagen appealing odds of 2.62 in the top can be pocketed on a goalless first round. Value? Definitely!
Will Rakow fail to make the playoffs for the third straight time?
By the way, the start of the national league season was average at best for the defending champions. Seven points stand after four matches (2-1-1). All seven points were earned in front of a home crowd. While the matches in the Ekstraklasa can be played in their own stadium, the club around the former HSV star Sonny Kittel has to move to Sosnowiec in the European Cup.
Although they have won all three of their qualifying matches for the top flight in exile so far, the quality of the opposition is by far the highest so far. Against this background, we deliberately refrain from predicting a home win between Rakow Czestochowa and FC Copenhagen and would actually be somewhat surprised if the red and blue team from Silesia secured their ticket to the CL group stage, even after the first and second legs. It should be mentioned here that the upstart from Czestochowa failed in the playoffs for the Conference League in each of the last two seasons.
Predicted lineup of Rakow Czestochowa:
Kovacevic; Racovitan, Arsenic, Rundic; Tudor, Papanikolaou, Lederman, Carlos; Drachal, Piasecki, Cebula
FC Copenhagen – statistics & current form
FC Copenhagen is playing a flawless season so far. The national ranking in Denmark leads the defending champion with the maximum yield of 15 points from five games. FCK have already scored 13 goals, scoring at least twice in all five league matches and have also won three away games. The dress rehearsal for Tuesday night’s important qualifier in Poland was also won 2-0 at Hvidovre on Friday night.
Coach Jacob Neestrup’s side have also proved their mettle on the international stage. In the second qualifying round, Breidablik from Iceland were beaten 8:3 on aggregate in the first and second legs, followed by a real endurance test against Czech title holders Sparta Prague. Despite a 0-0 draw in the first leg in front of their home crowd, FCK made it into the playoffs. To do so, they needed a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in the second leg.
Copenhagen wants to keep the aura of invincibility
Because the kickers from the Danish capital, who punched their ticket to the group stage of the top flight last year, have made a really good impression defensively in their five competitive matches away from home so far and have only conceded a total of four goals, there is again a lot to suggest that the odds on a maximum of two goals in the course of the match also make sense on Tuesday evening between Rakow Czestochowa and FC Copenhagen.
The primary goal of the guests from the north of Europe will be to remain without defeat in the tenth competitive match this season. Since this approach is primarily through a stable and compact defensive performance, it is hard to imagine that both teams will want to take too big a risk and concede an early goal in the first leg already. Therefore, in addition to the main tip on the over 2.5, the 0:0 at the break could also become an exciting option.
Predicted lineup of FC Copenhagen:
Grabara; Jelert, Diks, Lund, Sorensen; Goncalves, Jensen, Lerager; Elyounoussi, Larsson, Achouri
Rakow Czestochowa – FC Copenhagen Direct comparison / H2H record
Not surprisingly, this is the first time the two clubs have faced each other in a competitive match. While Rakow will be facing a Danish club for the first time in their young European Cup history, FCK has a completely balanced record against Polish representatives. In three matches, there was one win, one draw and one defeat. In the first leg on Tuesday evening, however, the cards will be reshuffled.
Rakow Czestochowa – FC Copenhagen tip
26 participants in the UEFA Champions League group stage have already been determined, six clubs can still jump on the bandwagon and help themselves to the big meat pots of a financial nature. Among the twelve contenders are the reigning national champions from Poland and Denmark.
On paper, the champions from the Danish Superliga are slightly favored. For the second group stage entry in a row, lower betting odds are offered on Jacob Neestrup’s team in the duel Rakow Czestochowa vs FC Copenhagen. For the first leg, meanwhile, bookmakers expect a tight match with no clear favorites. In our eyes, too, the opponents will largely neutralize each other.
For this reason, among others, we expect a rather tough match, in which there will not be a lot of goalmouth action. Quite the opposite. The team that scores the first goal, if it is scored at all, already has a small trump card on its side, which it will not want to give away lightly.
Therefore, before the first leg of the match between Rakow Czestochowa and FC Copenhagen, we are betting that the Danes, who are perhaps a bit stronger in terms of quality, will not lose the match and that a maximum of three goals will be scored. For the X2 & Under 3.5 is offered a 1.98, which is worth six units to us. The other top tips are also aimed at a low-scoring course of events.
