Malmo vs Riga
07 July 1800hrs
Football – Europe – Champions League qualifiers
Pick Under 2.5 goals
Bookmaker Paddy Power
Odds: 7/5 odds taken 2000 GMT, Monday 5 July
Euro 2020 may still be ongoing but the Champions League qualifiers begin this week and Malmo will be hoping to make home advantage count when they face Riga on Wednesday.
Table of Contents
Malmo Preview – Will the Swedish champions take an advantage into the second leg?
Malmo appear to be the dominant force again in Swedish football having won their first league title in three years last season. They won it by a comfortable nine points to give Jon Dahl Tomasson a league title in his first season in charge of the club. Tomasson’s men have started strongly again this season and they top the Swedish top-flight by three points after 10 games. Although they have played more games compared to their nearest rivals.
Malmo played their first competitive game in six weeks on Saturday and it was a second loss of the campaign as they went down 3-2 away to Norrkoping. The hope will be that it at least gets them sharper for the games ahead, including their tilt at playing European football.
Antonio-Mirko Colak is enjoying his loan spell with the Swedish champions. The Croatian striker has scored five goals in nine games after a disappointing season with PAOK who remain his parent club. Colak scored twice in the weekend defeat.
Malmo have played in the group stages of the Champions League as recently as 2015 which remains their only participation beyond the qualifiers. It would be some effort if they could achieve that again starting from the 1st round but the main objective is they are in some form of European group stage football come September.
Riga Preview – Can Riga spring a surprise as they bid to get beyond the first qualifier for the first time?
They may only have been formed seven years ago but Riga made it three consecutive league title successes last season. The Latvian champions have a battle on their hands retaining their title this time around, however, sitting second two points behind Rigas and having played a couple of games more than the current leaders.
Andres Riherts will be feeling the pressure considering he is the seventh manager in the last three years and he will be hoping to lead his team into European group stage action.
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It’s Riga’s away form which is the biggest issue and their last three games on the road have seen them take only one point and concede five goals in the process.
This will be the third straight season Riga have competed in the first round qualifier of the Champions League. The previous two have ended at this stage. Dundalk got the better of them on penalties after the tie finishing 0-0 on aggregate whilst Maccabi Tel Aviv were too good last season, winning 2-0 in Israel. Riga will once again be underdogs heading into this match as they bid to avoid a third straight exit without scoring a goal.
Malmo vs Riga Betting Advice
The group stages may be some way off for both these teams but the winner of this ties know they will give themselves a great chance of playing European football until Christmas with the introduction of the new Conference League.
Malmo are big favourites to advance and have more European pedigree. In addition to their group stage participation in the Champions League six years ago they reached the last-32 of the Europa League in 2019/20.
Key Facts – Malmo vs Riga Betting Tip
- Malmo won their first Swedish title since 2017 and looking to make the group stages for the first time since 2015
- Riga have played at this stage twice before and have yet to get beyond it or even score a goal
- The next leg will take place in Latvia on the 13th of July
Malmo will likely have too much for their opponents but it’s unlikely to be a high-scoring game. Riga kept a clean sheet in Ireland when playing Dundalk and kept it down to two when playing in Tel-Aviv last year. Back under 2.5 goals with the second leg to come next week.
Best Betting Odds for Malmo vs Riga
