Betting Tip
Horejs's team began their pre-season early — their opening friendly was back on 4 July. Since then, Hradec Kralove have played eight matches, winning five of them. On the other hand, across that spell the Czech side have recorded only one big win, while the second round of Europa League qualifying featured some poor spells. Against Tromso (4:1 on aggregate), Horejs's team often played second fiddle. At home, Hradec Kralove won (3:1), but conceded first and allowed 12 shots with 39% possession. It is clear that the Czech side will not cope with pressure on their defence if the level of opposition rises sharply.
Besiktas have still not agreed a deal for Salah, but even without the Egyptian the Istanbul club's squad is impressive. The Eagles' group is worth more than 200 million euros in total (202.4), while the Hradec Kralove squad does not clear the 15 million mark (13). Besiktas got past Midtjylland in the previous round (3:0 on aggregate), and Italiano's team were extremely measured away from home. The Danes started taking risks and then were reduced to ten men — Rashica and Kokcu took advantage, each scoring a goal. The Istanbul side produced 1.88 xG and three goal involvements in that match.
The game in Denmark was a good test for Besiktas. Hradec Kralove are not a top-level challenge. The Istanbul side should not drag things out — the Super Lig starts soon, so they need to conserve energy in Europe.