Gzira United v Wolfsberger (Conference League)

Austrians Wolfsberg have rightfully earned themselves a reputation for their European performances in recent seasons, having picked up some memorable results against the likes of Roma, Borussia Mӧnchengladbach and Feyenoord. So when the draw pitted the Wolves against Maltese minnows Gzira United – a club 166 places below them in the UEFA club ranking list – few pundits and journalists would have expected anything other than a straightforward victory for Robin Dutt’s men.

It did not quite pan out that way – the two teams played out a goalless draw in Carinthia last Wednesday – but the scoreline did not necessarily tell the full story. The Austrians did pretty much everything apart from put the ball in the net and totally dominated the statistics, recording 61% possession and registering 11 shots compared to one from Gzira. And they would have come away with the win had opposition goalkeeper Darijan Radelic-Zarkov not pulled off a brilliant save to deny Tai Baribo with a quarter of an hour to go.

If Wolfsberg can translate that dominance into chances and improve upon their finishing, we fully expect them to win and go through in Malta. And there is no reason to suggest they will draw another blank, with the Wolves having found the back of the net at least once in 10 of their last 11 domestic matches. Based on that record and their injury situation – they currently have a clean bill of health – we recommend backing a Wolfsberg victory that will edge them closer to a third season in the European group stages in the past four years.

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FC Midtyjlland v Benfica (Champions League)

After a stellar preseason that saw them win each of their six friendlies against Reading, Nice, Fulham, Girona, Newcastle and Amora by a combined scoreline of 20 to 6, Benfica have begun the 2022/23 campaign under Roger Schmidt in impressive form following the German’s arrival from PSV Eindhoven in the summer. Schmidt’s men hammered FC Midtjylland 4-1 via a hat-trick from Portuguese striker Gonçalo Ramos and a goal from Enzo Fernández, a 21-year-old Argentine midfielder who joined from River Plate weeks earlier. FC Midtjylland would follow that up with a 3-3 draw against Lyngby, the third time in four league matches this season where over 2.5 goals were scored. A 1-1 draw to Randers on opening day was followed up by a 3-1 home defeat to Silkeborg, and a 5-1 away win against OB before taking on Benfica. Despite scoring the most goals in the Danish top-flight with 10 goals, FCM sit eighth in the 12-team Danish Superliga, which sees the bottom six teams head to a round-robin relegation playoff format at the end of the season.

Benfica kicked off the Primeira Liga season with a 4-0 win against Arouca on Friday, as Brazilian right back Gilberto broke the deadlock in the eighth minute, with Portuguese winger Rafa Silva doubling the margin in the 42nd minute. Five minutes later, Mateus Quaresma received his marching orders for Arouca, with Fernández scoring the second volley in a week on the cusp of halftime – Silva would make it four in the 86th minute. 

Whilst they will be missing Brazilian winger David Neres in their trip to Denmark, Benfica nevertheless have ample firepower to do damage to a leaky FCM defense and continue their flawless start to the season. Last season saw Benfica string together an impeccable run of form to qualify to the UEFA Champions League group stage and enter October as the sole team in Europe’s top six leagues to have won every single league match alongside Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli. They are a team that, despite back-to-back third-place finishes, has typically begun their campaigns on a positive note, and they’ll be looking to dig their teeth into an FCM side that has conceded 8 goals in 4 matches – only OB and Brøndby have let in more in Denmark’s top-flight. I’m expecting another dominant performance for Roger Schmidt’s Benfica that should feature more than 2.5 goals.

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Sturm Graz v Dynamo Kyiv (Champions League)

With their country at war and European home games relocated to neighboring Poland, one might not have expected too much from Dynamo Kyiv in continental competition this season. But they appear not to be sidetracked by events at home and have already pulled off some excellent results in their Champions League qualifying campaign this term: the Ukrainians knocked out Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the last round, before claiming a narrow 1-0 victory over Sturm Graz in the third round first leg.

They will likely be without right winger Viktor Tsygankov, who has adductor problems, for the return fixture in Austria – but their opponents Sturm are arguably missing an even more important player: Jakob Jantscher, their key attacking player from last season with 19 goals and 21 assists, has been out for several weeks with torn muscle fibres and won’t play. In addition, the Grazers have been in indifferent form domestically, dropping points in two consecutive away games against teams they would be expected to beat.

With that and their additional rest time in mind – the Ukrainian Premier League does not commence until towards the end of August, whereas the Bundesliga is already in full swing – we could see Dynamo pulling off another impressive away win like they did in Istanbul when they kept their cool in the face of war-related taunts from the opposition fans to win 2-1 in extra-time. But to be on the safe side, we would recommend backing Dynamo on a double chance bet to win or draw, rather than an outright victory. 

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PSV Eindhoven v Monaco (Champions League)

It’s honours even between PSV and Monaco ahead of their second leg clash in Champions League third-round qualifying, with the sides having played out a 1-1 draw in the principality last week. it was a game the French side had much the better of and will feel they should have won, despite falling behind to a Joey Veerman strike before the break.

Monaco rotated heavily for their Ligue 1 match at the weekend against Strasbourg and picked up an excellent 2-1 victory. Important figures such as Wissam Ben Yedder and Vanderson were left on the bench, while others, such as Caio Henrique and Takumi Minamino, who had slight injuries, did not travel at all.

PSV took a slightly different approach to their preparations but blew away Emmen 4-0 with a team that had a handful of changes. Cody Gakpo is looking particularly sharp, having scored three goals and created two more in three games this season. Indeed, energy levels will be no problem for PSV, who had made four substitutes by the hour mark on Saturday.

The head-to-head record, meanwhile, makes interesting reading between these two. Last season, they faced off in the Europa League. PSV went to Monaco and drew but had already suffered a 2-1 reverse in Eindhoven. Sofiane Diop got the winner on that occasion and comes into this match in good spirits, having struck the decisive goal against Strasbourg at the weekend.

Both teams come into this game with a track record of scoring plenty of goals, and with Champions League progress up for grabs, expect them to put it all on the line when a breakthrough is made. In a match that will be hard to call, goals look the best bet.

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Rangers v Saint-Gilloise (Champions League)

Rangers were well beaten 2-0 in the first leg of this Champions League qualifier against Belgian outfit Saint-Gilloise, but they will expect to play a far stronger fixture in the return leg at Ibrox.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side were weak away from home last term as they reached the final of the Europa League but were formidable in Glasgow. After a 2-0 loss against Lyon to kick their campaign off, they went undefeated for six games in front of their home support, notably turnaround around 1-0 deficits against Braga and RB Leipzig. That will give them hope of a recovery in this match.

Indeed, Rangers will have been heartened to see Saint-Gilloise suffer a 3-0 defeat in the Belgian league at the weekend. Their opponents did not rotate their team too heavily for that match either, making just a trio of changes from the side that had beaten the Scots 2-0 a matter of days earlier.

Van Bronckhorst will have a stronger side to call upon for this game, too. Alfredo Morelos made a scoring return at the weekend and is sure to be a factor in this match, while summer signing Antonio Colak getting his first goal will also fire his confidence ahead of what promises to be a vital meeting.

Saint-Gilloise’s lack of European experience could count against them in this setting, too. The Ibrox crowd has the potential to make this game uncomfortable for the guests, and if Rangers can get an early head of steam up, they could be difficult to stop.

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