Apoel Nicosia vs SK Slovan Bratislava Prediction & Betting Tips - Champions League

Prediction published on 11/08/2024, 13:00  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 11/08/2024 at 13:53 in Champions League Predictions

APOEL Nicosia have a huge task on their hands when they face Slovan Bratislava in the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie on Tuesday night. The winner of this match will face either Midtjylland or Ferencvarosi TC in the playoff round. Here’s our match prediction. 

The Cypriot First Division champions are on the verge of elimination after losing the first leg 2-0 in Bratislava last week. They managed just 45% possession across the 90 and recorded only a single shot on target. 

In the last round, Marquinhos was APOEL's saving grace, as he scored home and away to secure his team’s progress to this round. They won their only home game in Europe this season 1-0. 

Across all competitions, the hosts have won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six games. However, they will believe that they can still get back into this tie, having scored in all but two of their previous 25 competitive matches at Neo GSP.

Meanwhile, Slovan Bratislava enter the second leg holding a two-goal advantage thanks to Robert Mak’s stoppage-time goal, while they were also the beneficiary of an own goal by Radosav Petrovic.

They registered a total of seven shots at goal, four of which were on target. Notably, Slovan’s greatest strength in the match was at set-pieces, and that could be an area they look to leverage on the road this week. 

The visitors have scored in 10 consecutive matches across all competitions and have not been shut out since a Super Liga meeting with DAC 1904 in April.