There are eight matches taking place in the Uefa Champions League qualifiers on Wednesday night and we’ve identified four teams worth backing on an accumulator.
These are all second round, second leg encounters, so consider what happened in the first leg matches before placing a bet.
We’ve put together a four-fold accumulator featuring one away win and three home wins. A £10 bet on the below results on the same slip currently returns £82.96 with Bet365.
- FC Astana v Dinamo Zagreb
- FK Qarabag v Rakow Czestochowa
- Genk v Servette
- Maccabi Haifa v Sheriff Tiraspol
Leg 1: Dinamo Zagreb to beat FC Astana
The hard work has been done for Dinamo Zagreb after claiming an impressive 4-0 victory over Astana last week. A hat-trick from Luka Ivanušec helped to blow away their Kazakhstan opponents, with the Croatian international likely to pose more problems in the second leg.
Naturally, this isn’t a game that Zagreb need to win considering their advantage, although they might find plenty of opportunities against an Astana side who have to throw caution to the wind. The home side squeaked past Dinamo Tbilisi in the previous round but now look out of their depth against superior opponents.
Expect Dinamo manager Igor Biscan to field a strong XI for this clash as the former Liverpool man will want to keep the momentum going as his Zagreb outfit hope to reach the group stage of the competition. An away win is reasonably priced on betting sites.
Leg 2: FK Qarabag to beat Rakow Czestochowa
One of the Champions League second round ties that remains firmly in the balance is the one between FK Qarabag and Rakow Czestochowa, with the latter leading 3-2.
An exciting first leg came to life after half time with a flurry of goals scored in the space of 20 minutes. The Polish side raced into a 2-0 lead before their Azerbaijan opponents scored in quick succession thanks to the prowess of Redon Xhixha.
The Albanian forward might end up making all the difference for this second leg clash, although the home side are a goal down after Rakow Czestochowa scored an injury-time winner in front of their own fans.
Gurban Gurbanov led his team to an Azerbaijan Premier League title last season and many of the players have experience of playing in European competition, while their opponents are relatively new to the Champions League. As such, we expect home advantage to get Qarabag over the line.
Leg 3: Genk to beat Servette
We’ve got a Belgium vs. Switzerland clash in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with the two teams drawn together as part of the League Path. It was a tight tussle last week, with exciting Nigerian forward Tolu Arokodare putting Genk into the lead.
However, Steve Rouiller restored parity which means that the tie is in the balance at 1-1, although Genk now have home advantage. The Cegeka Arena has been a bit of a fortress for a team who finished second in the Belgian Pro League last term.
Wouter Vrancken will likely send his team out to get on the front foot early on and they are warm favourites on football betting sites.
Servette finished second in the Swiss Super League last season and René Weiler’s side will hope to benefit on the counter-attack, although they might struggle and it’s worth noting that the coach has only been in charge for a matter of weeks after replacing Alain Geiger.
Leg 4: Maccabi Haifa to beat Sheriff Tiraspol
There was something of a shock last week when Sheriff Tiraspol got the better of Maccabi Haifa which means the Moldovan side have a slender 1-0 lead when they travel to Israel for the second leg. However, things might be a lot different in front of a passionate crowd at the Sammy Ofer Stadium.
Maccabi reached the group stage of the Champions League last season and the Israeli champions pulled off a few surprises, including beating Juventus at home. Messay Dego’s side are capable of overturning this deficit and the bookmakers have priced them as strong favourites to win.
Sheriff will hope to land a draw that helps them through, but they were fortunate to get their noses in front and the Moldovan champions should come off second best in this clash.
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Last Updated: 14th March 2024, 07:22 AM