The Slovakian champions are considered heavy favourites
A month ago, Pep Guardiola and his Citizens were crowned winners of the 31st edition of the UEFA Champions League. This week, the whistle blows for the 2023/24 Champions League season, with the big target set for 1 June, when the final will be played at Wembley Stadium.
The participants in the first qualifying round are not dreaming of the final, but already reaching the group stage would be a great success. On Wednesday evening, it comes to an unequal duel between Slovan Bratislava and Swift Hesperenge in Slovakia, as the tip on the host is clearly favoured.
The home side from Slovakia crowned champions for the fifth time in a row – 21st time in total – last season. The guests, Swift Hesperange, are a team from Luxembourg that won the BGL Ligue title for the first time last season. Accordingly, the CL qualification represents a premiere and advancing seems almost impossible. In the first leg at the NFS Tehelne Pole Stadion between Slovan Bratislava and Swift Hesperange, the forecast on the favourite only brings odds around 1.20 to 1.25.
The big names have yet to get into the action at this early stage of the season.
Slovan Bratislava – Statistics & current form
Not only in recent years is Slovan Bratislava the measure of all things in Slovakian football, but in general. The traditional club is both record champion and record cup winner. The team won its fifth title in a row last year thanks to a strong finish in the championship round. After the basic round, the team of coach Vladimir Weiss was still in second place in the table. In the end, however, the serial champions had the best offence (65 goals) and also the best defence (32 goals conceded).
Internationally convincing with good performances
Although the Slovaks failed to reach the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League last season, they did at least secure a place in the group stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League. In the third most important competition, the Weiss team performed well and won the group ahead of Swiss representatives FC Basel. They then crossed swords with the Bebbies again in the last 16, where they were beaten by Slovan Bratislava on penalties by the skin of their teeth. All in all, however, it was a successful international season.
The aim for 2023/24 is to build on this and the champions from Luxembourg must not be a stumbling block. The Slovaks are considered to be a very experienced team with a lot of international experience. Players like Juraj Kucka, new goalkeeper Milan Borjan (currently injured) and coach Vladimir Weiss have all played in the group stage of the UEFA Champions League several times. Since this summer, Slovan Bratislava have also had an Austrian in their squad, Kevin Wimmer (formerly of Stoke City, came from Rapid Wien).
It seems very likely that the favourites will make everything clear in their home match on Wednesday evening. Therefore, our betting recommendation above for the clash between Slovan Bratislava and Swift Hesperange also includes a prediction for a handicap victory for the home side.
Predicted line-up of Slovan Bratislava:
Chovan – Lovat, Bajric, Wimmer, Pauschek – Agbo, Savvidis – Zmrhal, Kucka, Weiss – Cavric
Swift Hesperange – Statistics & current form
The team from the town of Hesperange with a population of 15,000 was certainly one of the beneficiaries of the Corona pandemic. In the 2019/20 season, the team was in first place in the second division at the time of the season’s end and was thus declared promoted. The team quickly found its feet in the Luxembourg top flight and after a third and fourth place finish, last season saw the greatest success in the club’s 100-year history (founded in 1916). Head coach Pascal Carzaniga’s team fixed the championship for the first time.
The explosion in performance in recent years is only surprising at first glance, as this is due to the fact that sports patron and real estate broker Flavio Becca, who previously supported Düdelingen, has joined Swift Hesperange. The club’s rise is thus closely linked to his personnel and money investment.
First international for the third time
The away match in Slovakia will be only the fifth game on the international stage for the club. In 1990/91 they were eliminated by Legia Warsaw (two 3-0 defeats). In the 2021/22 season, the club played in the Conference League qualifiers, failing to beat NK Domzahle (0-1 and 1-1). So far, Swift Hesperange have not won a game on the international stage and have scored only one goal in four games.
The chance that this series will come to an end on Wednesday in the Slovakian capital is estimated to be very, very slim. Despite 22 legionnaires, there are no well-known players in the squad and the level is very low by international standards. It is not for nothing that the bookmakers are offering such low odds on a home win in the first leg between Slovan Bratislava and Swift Hesperange. Even a goal would be a big surprise, because it is to be expected that the guest with a five-man chain tries to make the spaces tight and can and will rarely provide relief forward.
Predicted line-up of Swift Hesperange:
Dupire – Sacras, Delgado, Skenderovic, Dante, Pierrard – Morren, Couturier, Sinani – Nouvier, Habbas
Slovan Bratislava – Swift Hesperange Direct comparison / H2H-balance
The two sides face each other for the first time in the first qualifying round for the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League season. For the Slovakian representatives from the capital, however, it is not the first encounter with a team from Luxembourg. In the 2007/08 season, Slovan Bratislava celebrated two victories against Differdange 03 in the then UI Cup (total score 5:0).
Slovan Bratislava – Swift Hesperange Tip
In the first qualifying rounds, the performance gap is sometimes still extreme. On the one hand, there is a team that can convince internationally, on the other hand, there is a team that is a complete unknown. Not surprisingly, our recommendation for this duel is to bet on the home side between Slovan Bratislava and Swift Hesperange.
But not on the regular three-way market, because here the betting odds are anything but interesting. A very good option, on the other hand, is to predict a home win without conceding a goal on Slovan Bratislava vs Swist Hesperange. The guests will act very defensively and destructively, scoring danger will hardly be generated.
Sooner or later, however, the favourites from Slovakia will find a gap, because there is no great doubt about victory. This bet is placed with six units. Other possibilities with a manageable risk that can be derived from this are the handicap win and the bet that not both teams will score.
