Betting Tip
Dynamo Kyiv approach the start of their European campaign as favourites, and that status is backed up on the pitch. Last season in the Ukrainian Premier League was uneven — fourth place, but Dynamo Kyiv won the Cup and kept a core with experience of qualifying rounds. In last season's Ukrainian Premier League, Dynamo Kyiv maintained a high attacking tempo — 2.2 goals per match, but also conceded an average of 1.2.
Universitatea Cluj travel to Lublin in poor shape. Silver medals in the Romanian championship were a strong result, but the end of the season was spoiled: a 5:0 thrashing by Universitatea Craiova in the title run-in and then a defeat to the same opponent on penalties in the Cup final. Things have not improved in the summer. In their last three friendlies, they have had no wins and no goals: 0:0 against Ujpest and two 0:3 defeats to Vojvodina and Nyiregyhaza. If we count all the June-July warm-up matches, there was also a game against Croatia U19 — a 2:1 defeat. Universitatea Cluj's winless run stands at six matches.
Dynamo Kyiv will take the ball, while Universitatea Cluj will almost immediately drop back towards their own penalty area. The visitors' plan is clear: wait for a set piece, catch a transition, find Dan Nistor between the lines. There is just one nuance — Universitatea Cluj are quiet in attack right now. For a month already, the team has created almost nothing, has not scored and has not won. Defending for 90 minutes against Dynamo Kyiv's tempo, Nazar Voloshyn's runs and constant pressure is a bad scenario.
Dynamo Kyiv to win is priced at odds of 1.85. Dynamo Kyiv are stronger in terms of squad quality and already understand how to play these qualifying matches, while Universitatea Cluj have had nothing going forward all summer. When a team cannot even score in friendlies, it is difficult to expect a sudden surge in European competition. This bet is based less on the Dynamo Kyiv name and more on the difference in the teams' current condition.
