The first qualifying round for the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League gets underway this week. On Tuesday, Swedish side Malmo FF host Icelandic club Vikingur Reykjavik.
Vikingur were forced to come through the preliminary qualifying round, despite winning the Icelandic top-flight title last season.
Efter förra säsongens Europaframgång är det dags för ett nytt kval till UEFA Champions League.— Malmö FF (@Malmo_FF) July 4, 2022
Efter förra säsongens Europaframgång är det dags för ett nytt kval till UEFA Champions League.
As for Malmo, they enter the tournament in the first qualifying round after securing the Allsvenskan trophy in 2021.
Malmo head into the first leg on the back of a 2-1 defeat to GIF Sundsvall, despite racking up 78% possession and 37 shots – 18 of which were on target.
As a result, the defending champions find themselves outside the group of early frontrunners in Sweden’s top tier.
Malmo have won six of their 13 Allsvenskan games this year, registering three draws and four losses along the way.
However, they have only managed to score 14 goals in the process – meaning they have one of the worst offensive records in the top half.
It is worth noting that Malmo have a rich history in Europe, having reached the final of the 1979 European Cup.
On the flip side, Vikingur Reykjavik have never played in the Champions League. They also failed to qualify for the Europa League in 2015-16 and 2020-21.
That said, the Icelandic club will fancy their chances of getting through this year’s qualifying phase and ruffling some feathers.
During the preliminary round, Vikingur thrashed Estonian side FCI Levadia before beating Andorran club Inter Club d’Escaldes to advance.
Vikingur come into this clash on the back of an easy 3-0 victory over KR Reykjavik, moving six points clear of the cross-city rivals in the process.
Consequently, they find themselves second in the Icelandic top tier – having won seven of their 11 league outings this term.
Head-to-head: This will be the first meeting between Malmo and Vikingur, meaning we have no previous results to assess for this matchup.
Team news: Malmo will be without the injured trio of Jonas Knudsen, Adi Nalic and Anders Christiansen for the first leg.
Meanwhile, Vikingur will be without Arnor Borg Gudjohnsen as the 21-year-old forward continues to recover from ankle surgery.
This is destined to be a close-fought battle between two evenly matched teams. However, Vikingur should have enough quality to come out on top.
Forebet predicts that Vikingur will claim a low-scoring victory over Malmo, keeping a clean sheet in the process.