17:00 Tuesday

FC Zürich Win vs FK Qarabağ 

Qarabağ were trailing 1-0 to Lech Poznan in the opening leg of the first round of qualifying but fought back and pulled off an incredible 5-1 victory to progress to the next stages of this year’s Champions League. Like Qarabağ, Zürich have made the Champions League group stages just once before back in 2009. They haven’t started their title defence particularly well this season, being beaten by Young Boys 4-0 last time out. However, this represents an excellent opportunity for the Swiss side to bounce back and this contest looks more balanced then the odds suggest. Given both sides carry a significant goal threat, it may come down to who can keep the other side out. We are backing Zurich to step up to the challenge on the European stage.

18:00 Tuesday

Malmö FF Win vs FK Žalgiris 

FK Žalgiris snuck through to the second round of qualifying after a narrow 1-0 home win in extra time. The domestic league champions are targeting a first ever qualification to the Champions League group stage. Malmö also just about made it to the second round of qualifying, winning 6-5 on aggregate against Vikingur Reykjavik. Although Žalgiris come into this game in good form having lost only one in their last 10, they face a much tougher test against Malmö who are odds-on favourites for a reason. The Swedish side haven’t struggled for goals and should be able to outscore their opponents on Tuesday and build on the two clean sheets from their last three matches.

18:45 Tuesday

FC Midtjylland Win vs AEK Larnaca

The Danish Superliga runners up, FC Midtjylland, kick off their Champions League campaign with a visit from AEK Larnaca. They are hoping to make the Champions League group stages for the first time since the 20/21 season, where they finished bottom of the group. They come into this game having drawn their opening Superliga game with Randers 1-1 on Friday evening.  AEK Larnaca haven’t competed in the group stages of a European competition since the 2018/19 season where they finished 3rd is the Europa League group behind Bayern Leverkusen and FC Zürich. They kick of their league campaign at the end of August and are likely to be short of competitive match practice. With Midtjylland having a potential fitness edge we expect them to justify favouritism here and put enough goals past a leaky Larnaca defence to secure victory.