Within the third round of the Champions League qualification, the Czech team Slavia and BATE will play two matches against each other. The first one will be held on the Czechs’ pitch and Slavia are considered clear favorites in the encounter and it is hard to disagree with that, considering the squad capabilities of the future competitors. The only advantage of BATE over the Czechs, that can bring them success, is a better gaming practice, as the championship of Belarus is in the heat of it, besides, BATE have already played two UCL qualification matches.
Prior to the matches against BATE, Slavia Prague had a number of friendly matches, in which the Czechs did not lose a single time, defeating such opponents, like Nice, West Bromwich Albion, Zilina, Viktoria Zizkov. There were also draws with Ceske Budejovice, Celtic and Krasnodar. Those are decent results and it probably won’t be easy for BATE in those matches.
Although BATE have also gained some great conditions: the team from Borisov did not lose a single time within the last five matches, defeating Alashkert, Neman Grodno, Gorodeya and Neman Agro. There’s also a draw in a domestic match with Alashkert. BATE are currently on the second position of the Belarusian championship’s tournament table, the gap from the leading Shakhtyor is three points.
Slavia will try to take the bull by the horns in the first match already, i.e secure themselves an advantage over BATE. The Czechs performed very qualitatively in the friendlies prior to the clash, therefore one may not doubt, that the team has already managed to gain the required conditions. In Slavia – BATE couple a bet on the future hosts looks like a decent option.
Prediction for the match: Slavia to win
