Dynamo Kiev are set to face up against Partizan at the NSK Olimpijs'kyj on Tuesday in the first leg of their second-round qualifying matchup in the Champions League.
Both teams finished second in their respective league table last season, meaning they automatically qualified for the second qualifying round as they take part in the league path.
Match preview
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Dynamo Kiev narrowly missed out on their first Ukrainian Premier League title since 2020-21 last season as they finished in second place and just two points behind eventual winners Shakhtar Donetsk.
That result gave the Blue and Whites a place in the league path of qualifying for the revamped Champions League league phase, meaning they enter straight into the second round where they face up against Partizan.
This will be Dynamo Kiev's first attempt at qualifying for Europe's elite competition since losing 5-0 to Benfica in the playoff round in 2022-23, instead featuring in the Europa League that season before failing to qualify for the Europa Conference League last campaign.
The hosts do have an extensive history in the Champions League, including a number of recent group-stage appearances, while they most recently progressed to the round of 16 in 2015-16.
Partizan also entered into this year's Champions League via the same method as Dynamo Kiev, placing second in the Mozzart Bet Superliga in 2023-24 to book their place in the league path of qualifying.
Tuesday's match will be Partizan's first back in the Champions League since 2017-18, when they lost 5-3 on aggregate to Olympiacos in the third qualifying round, while they have not made it to the group stage since 2010-11.
Unlike their hosts, the Steamroller's league campaign has already kicked off, securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over FK Napredak Krusevac on matchday one thanks to a 93rd-minute goal from Matheus Saldanha.
Aleksandar Stanojevic, who has managed the club on two previous occasions, returned to the managerial position this summer and will be looking to achieve further success with Partizan this season, starting with a second-qualifying-round victory against Dynamo Kiev.
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Team News
The hosts were defeated 3-2 in their most recent friendly outing against Union Berlin, but promising performances from several players could result in them starting in this game.
Vladyslav Vanat scored 14 goals in the Ukrainian Premier League last campaign, the highest of any player in the division, and the forward is expected to start in this one.
The visitors could name a similar 11 that kicked off their Mozzart Bet Superliga campaign with a victory last week, with goalscorer Saldanha expected to lead the line.
New signing Kevin Arriaga was particularly impressive in the middle of the park and is likely to start alongside Aleksandar Scekic, just behind Young-jun Goh.
Dynamo Kiev possible starting lineup:
Bushchan; Diachuk, Popov, Bilovar; Tymchyk, Brazhko, Shaparenko, Dubinchak; Yarmolenko, Vanat, Kabaiev
Partizan possible starting lineup:
Jovanovic; Durdevic, Markovic, Mujakic, Antic; Scekic, Arriaga, Trifunovic, Goh, Kalulu; Saldanha
We say: Dynamo Kiev 1-0 Partizan
While we expect this to be a tough game with both sides looking to stay in the tie ahead of the second leg, we do believe that Dynamo Kiev will make the most of their home advantage and come away with a narrow lead.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
