Dynamo Kiev have already dispatched Feyenoord in Champions League qualifying this summer and will be eyeing a place in the group stage once again ahead of the play-offs.
Kiev have been more than holding their own in Europe’s premier competition over the course of two decades now but they face Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany on Tuesday, a side embarking on their very first Champions League campaign.
The Bundesliga club did terrifically well to finish fourth in the German top flight last season and hopes will be high of reaching the tournament proper.
However, Lucien Favre’s side finished 21 points adrift of champions Borussia Dortmund and I question the strength in depth of the Bundesliga beyond the ‘Big Two’.
Scoring goals was a problem for Monchengladbach last term, they managed just 49 in 34 league games, and Favre has signed Luuk de Jong from FC Twente in a bid to find the net more frequently.
It might take a while for the Dutchman to settle however and the sale of star man Marco Reus to Dortmund should not be underestimated either.
While Favre could not hold on to his best players in the summer, also seeing Dante depart to Bayern Munich and Roman Neustadter head to Schalke, his counterpart on Tuesday evening, Yuri Semin, has been able to strengthen and Kiev started the Ukrainian season in fantastic form.
Semin has signed Miguel Veloso and Taye Taiwo to compliment a talented bunch of home-based players and it is easy to forgive Kiev a defeat at Vorskla last time out.
Surely they had more than one eye on tonight’s crucial clash and it had been five straight wins to start the Premier League season prior to that reversal, in addition to those home and away victories over the Eredivisie outfit.
With match-practice on their side, Dynamo have been in competitive action since mid-July, and plenty more experience than their opponents, the visitors are fancied to get something from the first leg and an away win would not surprise.
The hosts have been on the drift in the past 24 hours but they are still worth opposing at around the 2.30 mark and we should start the new Champions League season with a profit. A home win looks a tall order.
2pts Lay Borussia Monchengladbach (vs. Dynamo Kiev) @ 2.30 (Betfair)