Mjaellby – Slovan Bratislava

The Swedish champion won’t surprise his opponent from Slovakia.

On Tuesday, the third round of the Champions League qualification will begin with a match in Sweden. For the first time in its history, Mjällby is taking part in it. The club from the eponymous town reached the peak of its historical development last season, becoming Swedish champions. The Allsvenskan champion this season is playing without much enthusiasm. After fourteen rounds, Mjällby sit in eleventh place, closer to the relegation zone than to European positions. It is difficult to explain the sudden return of the club to its usual mid-table status. Surely, the reasons lie in psychology and the notorious difficulty of maintaining the standard once it has been raised. Slovan Bratislava has far greater significance for Slovak football than Mjällby does for Swedish football. The capital club won the national championship for the eighth consecutive time last season. That is, on Tuesday, against the debutant of the Champions League, one of the most experienced teams in the qualifying rounds will take the field. In the season before last, Slovan Bratislava reached the group stage of Europe’s elite tournament, where they did not make much of a splash, but played several decent matches and earned a decent amount of money for their development. Bookmakers identified the home team as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.99 on their victory. In the second qualifying round, from which the Swedish club began its bid for a place in the Champions League, Mjällby on their home ground beat Lincoln Red Imps 3-0. Even despite the goalless away leg in the return tie, the result can be considered convincing. The aforementioned victory was the Swedish champion’s only win in the last 2.5 months. In the other eight official matches during this period, Mjällby drew or lost. Slovan Bratislava in the previous qualifying round defeated a fairly strong Georgian champion, beating him away 2:0 and defending that victory at home with a 1:1 draw. The new season of the national championship for Slovan began with two resounding wins with an overall score of 7:0. Overall, the guests are fully prepared for the start of the confrontation with the Swedes. Given the strong experience of the Slovak team, Mjällby is unlikely to surprise them.