This week saw the first leg of the second qualifying round for the UEFA Champions League for 2024-25.
The League Path and the Champions Path will yield the teams that will go on to meet the automatic qualifiers once Champions League play begins.
The first-leg matches all took place on July 23 or 24, and the return fixtures are set for July 30 and 31.
Let’s look at the results from Week 1 and talk about some sports betting insights for next week.
UEFA Champions League Betting Qualifying Update 2024-25
League Path
July 23 (home team in bold)
Dynamo Kyiv 6, Partizan 2
Fenerbahce 4, Lugano 3
Jose Mourinho is attempting to rejuvenate his managerial career with Turkish side Fenerbahce.
They finished as the runner-up in the Turkish first division, and Mourinho looks to build on a track record that includes all three of the club trophies UEFA hands out.
AS Roma sacked him midway through the 2023-24 club season. Fenerbahce have not won the Super Lig in over a decade, and they would love to take the title from the other big Istanbul team, Galatasaray.
Lugano came in second in the Swiss Super League last year, and they started this campaign by beating Grasshopper Zurich at home thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Uran Bislimi.
Lugano’s problems have to do with their backline, which tends to let too much chaos happen around their own goal.
So while Lugano put up plenty of offense on the road, they now have to win here to advance (and surrender fewer than three away goals to Fenerbahce).
Champions League Pick: Lugano to win.
^Champions Path
July 23 (home team in bold)
Bodo/Glimt 4, RFS 0
Bodo/Glimt are the Norwegian champions and are very difficult to stop on their home turf.
They play north of the Arctic circle, and this is a pitch where many significant upsets have taken place.
So when RFS came to play, they had a lot of intangibles. This is Kjetil Knutsen’s seventh year coaching Bodo/Glimt; he almost got to the Champions League two seasons ago.
In last year’s Europa Conference League, they pushed mighty Ajax all the way in the knockout round before losing, 4-3, on aggregate.
RFS came in with a seven-match win across all competitions in the Latvian Higher League.
They rolled through their opening qualifier, stopping Northern Ireland side Larne 7-0 on aggregate, with seven different players scoring goals.
Their most recent major international tournament experience came at the Europa Conference League.
They bounced out of the qualifying target last year after having drawn Fiorentina, a Serie A side in Italy, on the road, 1-1.
Can RFS overcome a four-goal aggregate deficit, even after returning home from the outer reaches of the North Pole?
Champions League Pick: Bodo/Glimt to advance.
^Jagiellonia 4, Panevezys 0
Qarabag 2, Lincoln Red Imps 0
APOEL 1, Petrocub 0
Malmo 4, KI Klaksvik 1
FCSB 1, Maccabi Tel Aviv 1
Midtylland 3, UE Santa Coloma 0
Ferencvaros 5, TNS 0
Sparta Prague 2, Shamrock Rovers 0
The first leg did not go well for the Irish side, as the fourth-place team in the League of Ireland.
They entered the first leg having three losses, two wins and a draw across all competitions, but their current league standing is their worst since manager Stephen Bradley came to take over the team in 2016.
Sparta Prague continues a nice streak with 14 wins in their last 19 fixtures across all competitions.
They got a bye through the first round of qualifying thanks to their domestic league title from 2023-24. Their regular season saw them score 70 goals while allowing just 26, making them their leagues best team on both offense and defense.
They have won seven of their last nine away fixtures and have a nice two-goal lead here heading home.
Champions League Pick: Sparta Prague to win.
^July 24 (home team in bold)
PAOK 3, Borac Banja Luka 2
Ludogorets 2, Dinamo Minsk 0
Celje 1, Slovan Bratislava 1
^
Qualifying results and fixtures! 👇#UCL
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) July 24, 2024
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