On the evening, the battles of the final qualifying round of the Champions League will continue. At 21:45, ten teams will enter the fight, trying to earn a ticket to the group stage. Eurofootball.com provides you with a review of these matches.
"Celtic" - "Hapoel Beer Sheva"
Brendan Rodgers' career start at "Celtic" has been much harder than he expected himself and the fans of this team. In their first match, they experienced a sensational failure against the champions of Gibraltar, "Lincoln Red Imps", while in the third qualifying round playing against "Astana", they were saved from extra time only by Moussa Dembele's goal from a penalty in added time.
Their opponents from Israel also had a challenging path in the tournament. Initially, after a tough battle, they defeated the resistance of "Sheriff Tiraspol", and in the next round, they faced the strong "Olympiacos" team, which was considered the favorite. However, demonstrating excellent defense, the players of "Hapoel Beer Sheva" scored a goal at the end of the second leg, which was the only one in that series and helped them earn a ticket to the next round.
Although "Celtic" will be considered the favorites of this pair, their game this season is not yet what they would like. The Israeli champions have already proven to be dangerous, so in this pair, we can expect a tough and interesting battle.
"Dundalk" - "Legia"
After the draw, "Legia" could celebrate - they had the most modest participant of this stage. However, their neighbors - the players of "BATE" can share the bitter experience of being underestimated. Playing twice in a draw against the Icelandic team "Hafnarfjordur", the team "Dundalk" advanced to the third qualifying round only thanks to more goals scored in away games, and in the first match in Belarus they had no chances and only successful defense allowed them to return home with hopes and a loss by a minimal difference of 0-1. However, the situation changed radically in Ireland - "Dundalk" sent three precise shots into the opponent's goal without a response, and the Belarusian season in the Champions League ended with a bitter disappointment.
The season in the Champions League has not been easy for the "Legia" club. The Slovak champions "Trencin" caused them a lot of problems, and the Poles won against them with only a minimal advantage. In the match with the Irish, "Legia" will be considered favorites, but to justify this name, they cannot expect an easy walk. The example of the match with "BATE" shows that "Dundalk" at home can be very dangerous, so in the first match, we can expect a tough battle.
"Porto" - "Roma"
The match will be broadcast live on TV6
The Champions League draw brought together two teams that have played in the Champions League group stage in recent years. "Porto" has reached the group stage for the past five seasons, while "Roma" has appeared in this stage for the last two seasons.
Before the match, the chances of both teams are evaluated equally, but in terms of gameplay, "Porto" should have an advantage. Ahead of the season, "Roma" acquired as many as 11 players and loaned four players, most of whom will take places in the main squad. The newly assembled team may lack time to play together, and the fact that the "Serie A" has not started yet should not help their mutual understanding.
"Ludogorets" - "Viktoria Plzen"
Both participants of this pair reached the next stage of the third Champions League qualifying round only after a very serious battle, finishing both matches after 90 minutes with an equal score on the scoreboard. "Viktoria Plzen" beat "Qarabag Agdam" only thanks to a goal scored by the opponent in extra time, and "Ludogorets" needed extra time, in which two goals from Wanderson allowed them to overcome the players of the Serbian champions "Red Star".
The match of equally valued teams should be made even more interesting by the different styles of assembling the teams. If the Czechs deal only with local and neighboring Slovak players, then only four players with Bulgarian citizenship enter the 18 of "Ludogorets". One of them - Marcelinho, received Bulgarian citizenship quite recently and has been representing the Bulgarian national team since this year, despite playing for his native Brazilian under-20 national team at the beginning of his career.
"Villarreal" - "Monaco"
The Spanish and French confrontation will be another intriguing clash in the final round of the Champions League qualifying round. "Monaco" started the Champions League battles already in the third qualifying round, where it was definitely not easy for them. Fighting against "Fenerbahce", they lost the first match 1-2, but in the second match, after a tough battle, they defeated the opponents 3-1.
It is difficult to distinguish favorites in the showdown between these teams, and both teams are thinking about reaching the group stage. The Spaniards may be affected by the fact that four of their players are injured, and defender Victor Ruiz will miss the first match due to disqualification.
