CSKA Moscow take on AEK Athens in the second leg of their Champions League qualifier, with the Russian side leading 2-0 from the first leg.
UEFA Champions League – Third Qualifying Round (2nd Leg) Wednesday 2nd August – 18:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 14/5 at Sky Bet |
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CSKA Moscow
AEK AthensCSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow come into this second leg with a commanding 2-0 lead from the first leg. With that win coming away from home, it means they just need to prevent their opponents scoring at least two goals to advance to the next stage.
In the league this season, after three games, they sit fifth following two victories and one defeat. That defeat, 1-3 at home to Lokomotiv Moscow, came just before the first leg of this tie. Since then, they have won 2-0 at home to SKA.
With them in decent form, and holding a two-goal advantage in this tie, they will be confident of making it through to the Play-Off stage.
Last season, they automatically qualified for the group stage of this competition but finished bottom of a group which included Tottenham, Monaco, and Leverkusen. If they can get the job finished in this tie, they will be just 180 minutes away from reaching the group stage again.
AEK Athens
AEK Athens had a superb pre-season, winning three and drawing two of their friendly matches as they got the ideal preparation ahead of a new campaign.
However, it all went wrong last week when a below-par performance allowed CSKA to take a commanding lead in this tie. Now the Greek side face an uphill battle if they are to keep their hopes of reaching the group stage of this competition alive.
Last season, AEK didn’t make the qualifying rounds for this competition. They were knocked out in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, after failing to score in both legs against Saint-Etienne.
If they fail to score again in this match, they will be out of the competition.
Head to Head
The only head to head information available is from the first leg of this tie, when CSKA Moscow won 2-0.
Betting Odds and Predictions
CSKA Moscow are the obvious favourites here and are priced at 1/2 with Sky Bet. After that first leg result, we think those are extremely generous odds and could allow punters to make a nice profit.
AEK Athens are understandably the underdogs, with odds of 11/2, and the draw is priced at 14/5.
In fact, this tie is so one-sided after the first leg that CSKA Moscow to qualify is priced at 1/66. So, if you think AEK Athens can score at least two goals to take it to extra-time and penalties, or at least three goals for the win, you may be tempted by the 14/1 on offer for the Greek side to make it through.
We, however, do not think AEK Athens have any chance of making it through to the next round and would not back them to qualify even if the odds were 100/1.
Sky Bet offer a ‘Correct Score Group Betting’ option, with CSKA to win either 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1 priced at 11/8. This is an intriguing bet which will be extremely popular among some punters. We also like the look of it, as it covers several different options at a decent price.
The only other bet which appeals to us for this match is CSKA to score 2 or more goals. This is priced at 8/11 and we believe the home team will create several chances, especially with the visitors forced to attack and possibly leaving themselves short at the back.
Top Betting Tip
Our top betting tip for this match is CSKA Moscow to win either 1-0, 2-0, or 2-1 in the ‘Correct Score Group Betting’ market at Sky Bet, with odds of 11/8.