Champions League qualifying treble: Galatasaray goals, Copenhagen control and Molde mastery
- Seb Sternik
- 24 July 2023
The battle for Champions League qualification continues this Tuesday night. Planet Sport picks out three tips ahead of a busy night of continental action.
The second round of Champions League qualifiers is upon us as 24 clubs vie for a place in Europe's elite club competition.
There are seven fixtures taking place this Tuesday night and Planet Sport have picked out three of them to build a tasty European treble.
Zalgiris (LIT) vs Galatasaray (TUR)
After a year away, Turkish giants Galatasaray return to European football. Their first task comes away in Lithuania as they take on FK Zalgiris in the first leg of their second-round qualifying tie.
Two years ago, Galatasaray were knocked out at this very same stage, though on that occasion the opposition was PSV Eindhoven.
While the Turkish outfit are yet to play a competitive game this season, they have more than enough quality in their squad to convincingly beat Tuesday's opponents.
Dries Mertens, Nicolo Zaniolo, Lucas Torreira and Yusuf Demir are just some of the names in the Galatasaray squad - and that's before you include new signing Wilfried Zaha.
HJK Helsinki (FIN) vs Molde (NOR)
HJK needed extra-time to beat Northern Irish side Larne in the first qualifying round. The Finnish side will now turn their attention to Norwegian champions Molde.
Both HJK and Molde are in the midst of their domestic campaigns, and both are fighting for their respective titles.
However, bearing in mind their current form, it's difficult to look past Molde ahead of Tuesday's encounter.
Erling Moe's men have won six of their last seven games and are unbeaten since early June.
Molde have also bagged 19 goals from their last six games and are expected to turn on the style away in Helsinki.
Tip: Molde to win
Breidablik (ICE) vs FC Copenhagen (DEN)
Breidablik proved too strong for Shamrock Rovers in the earlier round as they powered to a 3-1 aggregate win.
Unfortunately for the Icelandic champions, taking on FC Copenhagen is an entirely different ball game.
The Danish giants competed alongside Manchester City, Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund in their Champions League group last season.
Despite failing to get a single win on the board, the experience of playing against the best will have only strengthened The Lions.
Getting past their Icelandic opponents shouldn't be a problem. With that in mind, we're backing Copenhagen to deliver in the handicap market.
