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Steffen Schmidt - July 24, 2023
Aris Limassol vs BATE Borisov
UEFA Champions League Qualification
Date: 26 July 2023, Wednesday
Kick-off at 18:00 UK / 19:00 CET
Venue: Alphamega Stadium (Kolossi).
Aris Limassol will make their Champions League debut on Wednesday evening in the first leg of the second qualifying round tie against BATE Borisov.
Aris have won their maiden Cypriot title last year on the back of investments made by Russian investor Vladimir Fedorov in 2021.
The club have immediately secured their inaugural European appearance last year when they were eliminated in the second round of the Conference League by Neftci from Azerbaijan (2-3 on aggregate).
Aris will enter the new season with big ambitions but it is worth noting that they have lost the league’s top scorer and MVP from last season as Aleksandr Kokorin returned from loan to his parent club Fiorentina this summer.
The team led by Belarusian manager Aleksey Shpilevskiy did, however, beat Omonia Nicosia in the first competitive game of the season on Friday evening, clinching the Cypriot Super Cup trophy with a 2-0 victory on the occasion.
BATE have a much richer European experience but, unlike their counterparts, they seem to be going in the wrong direction in the last several years.
BATE have not won the domestic league since 2018 and they are nowhere near the top of the standings after 14 rounds of the new season in Belarusian top flight either.
Kiryl Alsheuski’s men sit fourth in the league table with just 6 wins in 14 outings and with as many as ten points between them and the likes of Neman Grodno and Dinamo Minsk at the top.
Also, it is worth noting that BATE did not look good at all in the first qualifying round, requiring two late goals to eliminate the likes of Partizani Tirana who were a much better and more dangerous team on the pitch in both legs.
Aris Limassol possess much more quality in their ranks at the moment and we see them as clear favorites both on the evening and over two legs. We expect the hosts to claim a statement win on Wednesday and we will back them to beat BATE in -1.5 Asian Handicap at the 2.75 odds.
Alternatively, you can take Aris Limassol to win to nil at the 2.37 odds knowing BATE showed little offensively in two first round legs against Partizani.
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