Viktoria Plzen vs Qarabag Prediction: The Red and Blue will get a positive outcome

The return leg of the Champions League play-off round will take place on 23 August 2022 in Belgrade, where Viktoria Plzen will face Qarabag.

Viktoria is one of the strongest teams in the Czech Republic, having lost a bit of momentum at the end of the last decade, but they finally regained the championship trophy last season. This season, the Red and Blue will try to defend their title, although they currently sit seventh in the standings. But in qualifying for the Champions League, they are doing very well. They beat Finnish HJK with a combined score of 7:1, they defeated Moldovan Sheriff twice (2:1), and in the away game with Qarabag they snatched a 0:0 draw in the current round.

Qarabag was the first team to win the Azerbaijani championship in the 21st century in 2014. Since then, they have finished in the local medals for another seven years, scoring the top spot on six occasions. In the current draw of the tournament, the team started strongly again, beating Sabail and Sumgait (3:1 and 2:0, respectively) in the two opening rounds. They have a difficult time qualifying for the Champions League. First, they beat Lech and Zurich in extra time, then won Ferencváros and drew with Viktoria.

Qarabag is an exclusively home team, and even in the current Champions League qualifiers, they have been successful because of their home games, while they lost away to Lech and Zurich. The Czech side is the favorite to win because they won a strategically vital draw in Azerbaijan, while the Red and Blue have to be successful at home. As a result, we're betting on Viktoria Pilsen to win at 2.25.

Viktoria and Qarabag have been exceptionally efficient in their Champions League qualifying campaign, so a nil draw in their first meeting is the exception rather than the rule. In their previous four games, the Czechs have scored a combined total of 14 goals (3.50 goals per game on average) and always beaten the bookies' total over, while the Azerbaijanis have managed 22 goals (3.67 goals per game on average) in their last six games. Therefore, we suggest betting on a total over 2.5 for 2.14.

Particular attention should be given to predicting the exact score of the upcoming confrontation. As we have already mentioned, the favorite team in this duel is Viktoria Plzen, who has a better and more experienced squad. Moreover, they are going to play on home soil. The Red and Blue have already played five matches in this season's Champions League qualifying campaign. The most popular result is a 2:1 victory, which has happened on three occasions (60%). Therefore, we recommend betting on 2:1 in favor of the Czechs at around 10.00.

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