Pafos – Djurgarden

The visitors will not withstand the pressure of the opponents in Cyprus

The Cypriot club's journey to the continental play-offs continues. Over the past decade and a half, such successes have most often been demonstrated by APOEL, who managed to prove themselves even in the Champions League. This year, two teams from Cyprus have made it to the Conference League knockout rounds, having managed to get into each other's rivals. Paphos, as expected, proved to be more determined and proved their advantage over Omonia. In the overall stage, the leader of the Conference League, the Cypriot champion took the final twelfth place and got into the knockout rounds without any problems. Paphos lost only to Fiorentina and Heidenheim - representatives of Europe's top divisions. In the second half of last year, Djurgården focused almost all their attention and concentration on the Conference League. The team jumped above their heads and took fifth place in the overall stage standings. This allowed the Swedes to miss out on the knockout rounds. The big problem for all Scandinavian clubs in the current European Cup season has been the early start of the spring part. The last rounds of the general stage and playoff matches are now scheduled for the Allsvenskan clubs in the middle of their holidays. Bookmakers have identified the home team as the favourites for the upcoming encounter, offering odds of 1.86 on their victory. Paphos are leading in the national championship. In Cyprus there was practically no winter break in football. There clubs had a little more than a week's rest at the end of December, and the hosts of the upcoming match played their first match of 2025 on the 2nd of January. The advantage over the nearest pursuer Paphos has three points, but it could be more, as the last round's match the club "sacrificed" in favour of preparation for the meeting 1/8 finals of the Conference League. Unlike the islanders, Djurgården played their last serious game in mid-December last year. For the last couple of weeks, the club from Stockholm "races" matches of the Swedish Cup, where it often faces opponents from divisions below the elite. Jurgården failed in the Allsvenskan last season, finishing in fourth place and are unlikely to qualify for the European Cup next season. Let's bet that the home team will win thanks to a solid defence and home arena.