Simon Dalton presents his prediction bets on the 2024 Champions League match.
Dynamo Kyiv started their pre-season training two weeks later than Partizan, whose national league began last weekend. Even after beating Napredak 1-0, the Belgrade team is still the underdog in this Champions League qualifying round.
Although Dynamo didn't win the Ukrainian Premier League, they've clearly improved their performance under coach Shovkovskyi. The Kyiv club kept their two top players from the Ukrainian league: Vanat (14+7) and Buyalskyi (10+5). In friendly matches, Dynamo scored nine goals in five games, only losing to Union Berlin (2-3). Although Dynamo will host Partizan in Lublin, they won’t have a true home advantage.
Unlike their opponent, Partizan is far behind the champion Red Star in their league, trailing by 18 points. In pre-season, the Belgrade team didn't win any games in regular time, losing to Bravo (1-2) and CSKA Moscow (0-3). Against Napredak, the team was lucky with a red card for their opponents - Saldanha scored the only goal in the 93rd minute.
The Serbian runner-up will probably focus on their home game, where they'll have more fan support. In Lublin, Dynamo is likely to win - their friendly matches showed that they're better prepared for European competitions than Partizan.
