Oleksandr Shovkovskiy leads his "Dynamo" Kyiv squad into a critical Europa League playoff round against Israeli champions "Maccabi" Tel Aviv this Thursday at the Bloomfield Stadium. Both teams dropped down from Champions League qualification after falling victim to Cyprus side Paphos.
"We understand the challenge ahead of us in Tel Aviv, but our focus remains on securing a positive result to bring back to Kyiv," Shovkovskiy might say about the upcoming clash.
The bookmakers see this first leg as a remarkably balanced affair, offering nearly identical odds for both sides. "Maccabi" victory comes in at 2.63, while "Dynamo" sits slightly lower at 2.58. Interestingly, though, the oddsmakers favor the Ukrainian side to advance overall with qualification odds of 1.67 compared to "Maccabi's" 2.20.
Zharko Lazetich's "Maccabi" squad captured the Israeli championship last season but has shown defensive vulnerability in European competition. They somehow managed to concede in both matches against Malta's Hamrun during their Europa League qualifying campaign. Their attack relies heavily on quick transitions featuring Elad Madmoun, Ion Nicolaescu, and Osher Davida.
For "Dynamo," goals have been hard to come by against organized defenses in European play, despite their domestic scoring prowess. The 35-year-old Andriy Yarmolenko attempts to provide attacking energy on the right wing, but reportedly lacks the stamina to maintain effectiveness throughout matches. Vanaт and his attacking partners have struggled to break down disciplined defensive units.
By the way, these teams have met before in European competition. Their 2011 Europa League encounters ended in draws, while "Dynamo" swept both Champions League matches in 2015.
The analysts expect moderate scoring, offering 1.79 odds on over 2.5 goals, with both teams to score at 1.63. Will "Dynamo" manage to break their European scoring drought against the leaky "Maccabi" defense? The first step toward the Europa League group stage begins Thursday at 23:00 Astana time.
