Aris take on the visitors Rakow in the second leg of UEFA Champions League qualification semifinals. First leg result: 1-2. The match will be played on Tuesday, August 15th at Alphamega Stadium (Kolossi).
Aris (Limassol) are geared up for a comeback. The Light Brigade has existed for a long time, but for decades it remained an extremely modest and inconspicuous team. A new stage began when the project was acquired by Fedotov, and later he brought in a young specialist, Shpilevsky, as the coach. It was he who first led the team onto the international stage (last summer, they were immediately eliminated from the Europa League by Neftchi – a 2-0 home victory wasn't enough against a crushing 0-3 defeat in Azerbaijan). However, later on, luring Alexander Kokorin to Cyprus, the club managed to climb to 1st place for the first time in its history. Their debut in the Champions League was successful. Ironically, the most Belarusian club on the Mediterranean island was drawn against BATE, and managed to confidently defeat them: 6-2 and 5-3. However, they did lose in Częstochowa, albeit by the narrowest margin, 1-2. On the other hand, a goal in the 88th minute leaves good chances for overall success.
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Rakow are determined to progress further. Interestingly, the Medallions story is quite reminiscent of the current history of Aris, with the caveat that Belarusian investors didn't join the project here. Here, too, there was almost a century of modest results (except for one appearance in the Polish Cup final, which was lost, in 1967). The upswing began in Częstochowa a little earlier. Interestingly, there were initially two identical cycles: 2nd place in the Ekstraklasa along with victories in the Cup and the Super Cup, combined with elimination from the Europa League by the 3rd opponent. Last spring, the red and blue secured their 1st championship title. So, the club from Częstochowa made its Champions League debut almost parallel to the Cypriots. They didn't pay much attention to Flora at first (1-0 at home, 3-0 in Estonia), then they fought hard against Quarabag (3-2 in Poland, 1-1 in Baku). They even defeated Aris. True, until the 88th minute, it was 2-0, but the guests managed to score their goal.
Of course, the clubs that have recently started playing in European competitions faced each other for the first time a week ago. The hosts are considered clear favorites for the home leg of the match. However, it won't be dull – we recommend betting that they will achieve a total over 2.5 goals.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
