APOEL Nicosia won the UEFA Europa League play-off with 1-0 mans and the Astana Kazakhs returns on Thursday evening at 15:00. Betting sites make Astana favorite, but APOEL has a team with more quality, and the victory of the guests is excellent! If Astana is attacked, the Cypriots can take full advantage of the counterattack.
APOEL is not yet 100% physically fit, because the domestic match in Cyprus has not begun, but the Nicosians have shown well in the European Cups. They started their adventure in the summer with a 5-0 home in front of Florence Tallinn, Estonia, just to lose the 0-2 return. Then, in the 3 nd round, APOEL made 2-2 away with Hapoel Beer Sheva (Israel), but managed an impressive home win, score 3-1. Finally, the Astana tour was won by 1-0 thanks to the flawless tactical score played by the hosts led by Lusitan Baltazar. It has the mission to bring the Cypriots back into the UEFA Champions League groups at the year!
Baltazar is the advocate of an offensive game based on possession, and APOEL has a lot of quality players like Lucas, Nsue, Morais, Caju, Dellattorre or Zahid. And the goalkeeper is very good, the former Dutch youth boy Boy Waterman. Besides, in the tour, APOEL had one Cypriot player on the field, Efrem, who entered after the break in place of Al Tamari! It’s an exciting, cosmopolitan team with many technical possibilities. Astana, on the other hand, does not have many quality players except Kleinhesler, Kabananga, Henrique and Rukavina. He seems like a tough, imaginative band that can be dominated by an effective pass game.
Astana played a 4-5-1 sterile shot in the lap and it’s hard to believe that he will be able to hit the opponent’s goal in the second hand. The Kazakhs had only 3 sutures on the gate in the first match, while APOEL pulled 16 times at the goal but without much efficiency. The corners’ ratio was 6-5 for APOEL, and the general feeling is that Nicosians have at least two classes over Kazakhs. It is worth trying a modest stake on the victory of the guests on the return, but given the circumstances of the game, the bet on both sides is announced the most profitable!
PREDICTION: FC Astana to win @ 1.90
