Ruzomberok take on the visitors Tobol in the first leg 1/8-finals of UEFA Champions League qualification. The match will be played on Thursday, July 11th at Štadión pod Čebraťom (Ružomberok).
Ružomberok shows excellent form again. The "Roses" have been around for a while, but they rarely "shoot up." One notable year was 2006, when, on the club's centenary, they shocked everyone by achieving a "golden double," despite not having won anything significant before. After that, they quickly slipped back to being mid-table regulars. There were third-place finishes and even a "silver" in 2022. Last season wasn't remarkable, finishing 5th (though in 2023, it was 7th). However, reaching the cup final finally ended with a victory and their first such trophy. This win allowed them to return to the European stage. The Slovaks haven't played there often or particularly successfully, usually bowing out by the third opponent – in 2017 in the Europa League, they beat Vojvodina and Brann but lost twice, 0-1, to Everton.
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Tobol are a respected project with a long and challenging history, especially by local standards. They have twice been champions of Kazakhstan, including in 2021 when they ended Astana's dominance and climbed to the top. They couldn't repeat that success, but in 2023, they won the cup (their second, the first being in 2007). After the winter break, they added the Super Cup, but the championship hasn't been going well: 19 points from 12 matches, which only places them 4th in the current table due to additional criteria. Their hope now lies in "shooting up" on the international stage. Last season was their most successful attempt: they defeated Honka, Basel, and Derry City but lost to Viktoria Plzeň.
The clubs will play each other for the first time. The "Roses" are playing at home against an opponent who faced a long and challenging journey. We bet on the Slovaks with a "0" handicap.
Prediction for the match: Ruzomberok to win with 0.0 handicap.
