The Champions League has already reached that vital play-off round stage when teams book their place in the group stage of the competition.
Two teams looking to seal their spot in the group stage of European football’s elite competition are Ludogorets and Malmo, who meet in Bulgaria for the second leg of their play-off tie on Tuesday night.
AC:s kanon! 😍pic.twitter.com/OLQAT22Ylt— Malmö FF (@Malmo_FF) August 21, 2021
AC:s kanon! 😍pic.twitter.com/OLQAT22Ylt
The first leg in Sweden finished 2-0 to Malmo, so they will be confident of finishing the job in the second leg.
The home team have kicked off their domestic league campaign with three wins out of three. However, Malmo are arguably a superior quality of team compared with the ones that Ludogorets face on a weekly basis in the Bulgarian top-flight.
Before the first leg defeat, the home team were unbeaten in six matches in the Champions League.
They did need a penalty shootout to see off Greek team Olympiakos in the last round, though. The Bulgarian team look to have a big task on their hands to turn this tie around.
Malmo are currently top of their domestic league and since the first leg recorded a comfortable 3-0 win over Degerfors.
When it comes to the Champions League, the visitors have picked up some highly creditable results. In the last round of the competition, the Swedish champions eliminated Steven Gerrard’s Rangers.
The first leg win of this tie makes Malmo unbeaten in 90 minutes in the Champions League in 13 matches, dating back to 2018. However, they have not featured in the competition’s group stage since 2015, when they were in a group with Real Madrid, PSG and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Forebet predicts that this will be a relatively close game, ending in a low-scoring draw that would be enough for the visitors to book their place at the top table of European football for next season.