Мальме – РФШ

Друге протистояння між шведською та латвійською командами не буде надто продуктивним.

In the Swedish-Latvian confrontation, two quite experienced European cup fighters faced off. Sweden's most decorated club, Malmö, practically starts every European season in the Champions League qualifiers and a few years ago even played in the same group of the elite continental tournament as Chelsea and Zenit. The 'Sky Blues' had a poor start to the season in Allsvenskan, but approached the Champions League qualifying matches at the peak of their form. One could attribute the failures in the league to the preparation for European qualifiers, but half of the season has already passed. RFS begins continental battles in the Champions League for the second consecutive year. Last season, the Riga club was remembered for its performances in the Europa League, where they even managed to score some points. It seemed that the Latvian champions were well-prepared for the confrontation with Malmö; however, the first match demonstrated the baselessness of these assumptions. A week ago, the Latvians were already down 0-2 by the 35th minute. Towards the end of the first half, they managed to give local fans hope, but the goal ultimately became just a consolation goal in the final defeat with a score of 1-4. Betting companies have made the home team the favourites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.30 for their victory. Malmö had a poor start to the season in the national league. The calendar has already passed the halfway point, and the reigning champions are ten points behind the leader. However, it is worth noting that Malmö is currently in the best form of the entire football year. The last six matches for the Swedish champion ended in victories, three of which were in the Champions League and three in Allsvenskan. Malmö is indeed stronger than the opponent from Latvia, but should we expect another thrashing? RFS won twice against Estonian Levadia in the first qualifying round with a score of 1-0. Defensive discipline is a key success factor for the Riga club, both last season and this one. Even if they need to work miracles in Sweden, the visitors will not charge forward with 'their guard down' and expose their flanks. Surely, the visiting team will aim primarily to play decently and disciplined. The second match between the opponents is not expected to be as high-scoring as the first.