Today, Dynamo Kyiv football club will start the season in the Europa League, the second most powerful and prestigious European club tournament.
“Dynamo, which finished second in the previous season of the Ukrainian Premier League, could even play in the revamped Champions League, but lost to Salzburg in the qualifying playoffs.
So this year, the Kyiv club will try to compete for victory in the renewed Europa League.
Tournament format
The Europa League, like the Champions League, consists of 36 clubs that will compete in a single standings. Each club will play 8 matches against opponents of different levels during the league stage. The first 8 teams will then automatically qualify for the 1/8 finals. The clubs that will take places 9 to 24 inclusive will play for the remaining 8 places.
Dynamo’s path
“At the league stage, Dynamo will play Lazio, Hoffenheim, Roma, Ferencvaros, Viktoria Pilsen, Real Sociedad, Galatasaray and Riga.
“Lazio
After five matches in the Italian league, Lazio has two wins, one draw and two losses, with a goal difference of 9:8. With 7 points, the team currently ranks eighth in the standings.
Mark Baroni’s men started the season with a 3-1 home win over Serie A newcomer Venice. Then they lost away to Udinese 1-2, although they played against an opponent who remained in the minority from the 68th minute. This was followed by a 2-2 draw at home to AC Milan and a 2-1 victory over Verona. The last match ended in a 1-2 defeat away to Fiorentina.
What bookmakers say
“Dynamo Kyiv is not one of the favourites of bookmakers – they consider the Kyiv club to be the 22nd-23rd strongest team in the league. So if you bet 100 hryvnias on Dynamo to win the entire tournament, and if Dynamo does win, you will win as much as 8000 hryvnias.
Bookmakers consider Tottenham, Manchester United and Roma to be the favourites of the tournament. Today’s opponent Lazio is also close to the favourites – bookmakers consider it to be approximately the seventh strongest team in the league.
In today’s match, Lazio is also considered a favourite: bookmakers give odds of 2.3 for their victory, 3.1 for a draw, and 3.3 for a Dynamo victory.
Where to watch
The match will take place at Dynamo’s home ground, the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, at 22:00 Kyiv time.
Megogo media service has the exclusive rights to broadcast European football competitions in Ukraine.
