The 3rd qualifying round of the Champions League commences this week and the 1st leg ties of these fixtures features this upcoming clash between Azerbaijan hosts, Qarabag, and their Hungarian visitors, Ferencvaros.
The two sides battle it out for a lucrative place in the group stage of this competition.
Full Time: #ZurichQarabag 2️⃣-2️⃣ (4-5)Congratulations boys, we are proud of you 👏👏👏 🔜 Q3 #UCL pic.twitter.com/wb4af91T6K— Qarabağ FK English (@FKQarabaghEN) July 27, 2022
Full Time: #ZurichQarabag 2️⃣-2️⃣ (4-5)Congratulations boys, we are proud of you 👏👏👏 🔜 Q3 #UCL pic.twitter.com/wb4af91T6K
With victories over Polish club, Lech Poznan, and Swiss side, FC Zurich, Qarabag have achieved a place in the final qualifying round of the Champions League.
The hosts will be hoping they can exploit home advantage at their Tofiq Bəhramov adına Respublika stadionu in this 1st leg on Wednesday evening.
Gurban Gurbanov's side beat Lech Poznan 5-2 on aggregate in the 1st qualifying round of this season's competition, before defeating Zurich 5-4 on aggregate in the previous round, so confidence is likely to be high amongst the Qarabag camp.
Results overall at Champions League level have been fairly reasonable for Qarabag who have lost just three of their last 14 ties overall and Qarabag have no fresh injury concerns from their second leg with Zurich with the likes of striker Wadji (16 goals last season) set to lead the line up front.
As a result of their victories over Tobol and Slovan Bratislava, Ferencvaros have advanced to this 3rd qualifying round stage of this season’s Champions League.
But they face a formidable opponent in the shape of Qarabag who stand in their way of reaching the group stage.
Ferencvaros toppled Kazakhstan side, Tobol, 5-1 on aggregate after drawing 0-0 away from home in the 1st leg but then had to come from behind to negotiate their way past Slovakian club, Slovan Bratislava, after being beaten 2-1 at home in the 1st leg.
Ferencvaros rallied in the 2nd leg away in Bratislava though, recording a comprehensive 4-1 victory which saw the Hungarians through to this 3rd qualifying round although wins on the road at this level haven’t always come easy for Stanislav Cherchesov’s side.
The Hungarian visitors have picked up just three wins from their last 10 outings in this competition but they did get their domestic top flight season off to a winning start on Sunday as they registered a 1-0 home win over Puskas Academy and they look set to name an unchanged side for this 1st leg.
Qarabag look the more likely to come out on top in this 1st leg.