Betting Tip
Although Sutjeska were drawn against Kairat Almaty, a former participant in the Champions League league phase, ML Vitebsk had a tougher opponent. The “Geese” were knocked out by Universitatea Craiova (5:1 on aggregate), whose total squad market value is almost 2.5 times higher than that of the Almaty side. In essence, Sokolinskiy’s team lost the tie in the opening half, when they conceded three times before the break (4:1). In Romania ML did not flinch: their counter-attacking set-up still left them with chances from rare breaks forward. The gap in attacking threat remained obvious (5–14 in shots on target), but the favourites added their only goal only in stoppage time at the end of the second half (1:0).
Sutjeska had even less of a contest in their ties with Kairat Almaty (4:1 on aggregate). The champions of Kazakhstan produced 26 shots over the 180 minutes, and at home the Montenegrins did not register a single effort on target. Milorad Pekovic’s staff will also be hampered by Raznatovic’s suspension — without him, the structure of their low block will be disrupted. The team from Niksic try to play in a 4-3-3, a shape in which it is hard to create with vertical passes against a top-class opponent.
The defeat in the return leg against Kairat was Sutjeska’s sixth in a row — a sequence that began at the end of last season. ML, by contrast, went into Champions League qualifying on an unbeaten run of four matches. We expect the Geese to build a cushion in Hungary before travelling to Montenegro — their European debut cannot be called a failure, and it will certainly give them extra motivation.
