Dynamo Kyiv and Fenerbahce are set to clash in a fascinating Champions League qualifier on Wednesday. Due to the situation in Ukraine, the match will be played in Lodz, the third largest city in Poland.
Both teams will look to make a good start and bookmaker 10bet offers odds at 2.10 for Dynamo to score in the first half. The odds are at 2.15 for Fenerbahce to find the net inside the opening 45 minutes of action.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: July 19th, 5:30 P.M. (EST)
This will be Dynamo’s first competitive game since December 2021. The team has been forced to play only exhibition games and friendly matches, which puts the side in a tough spot. The Ukrainian giants have been regulars in the Champions League group stage but getting there will be much tougher this year.
In addition to not being able to play competitive football for over seven months, the club has also lost a number of players because of Russia’s invasion. Manager Mircea Lucescu will have to mostly rely on local talent and it remains to be seen if Dynamo are competitive enough in Europe.
Fenerbahce are chasing their first Champions League ticket since the 2008-09 season when they were ironically paired in the same group with Dynamo. The Ukrainians picked up four points from the head-to-head meetings.
The 19-time Turkish champions have had some really rough times in recent years, even ending up finishing seventh in the league a couple of seasons back. However, it looks like the Yellow Canaries are on the up again and should be full of belief that they can take down Dynamo in a two-legged match-up.
Fenerbahce have won five straight pre-season friendlies ahead of the trip to Lodz. The club hired former Benfica boss Jorge Jesus as manager in June and he’s set the bar pretty high with the run of results over the summer. Wednesday will mark his official debut for Fenerbahce.
A number of players are set for their first taste of action in a Fenerbahce shirt as well, among them former Bournemouth star Joshua King.
Fenerbahce already had the deadliest attack in Turkey last season and King will definitely add further quality to the team. He hasn’t been at his very best over the last couple of seasons, but King still finished his Premier League career with some nice numbers in recording 53 goals and 17 assists across 204 appearances.
Former wonder-kids Emre Mor and Bruma will also be nice extra options upfront along with Brazilian Lincoln, who had a breakthrough campaign in the Portuguese top-flight for Santa Clara last season with five goals and seven assists.
