Young Boys v Crvena Zvezda
Wednesday 21st August 2000hrs
Football – Europe – Champions League
Pick Young Boys
Bookmaker William Hill
Odds: 20/23 (odds taken 20.00 GMT, Tuesday 20 August)
 |
1 | X | 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41/50 | 49/20 | 69/20 |
* (Betting Odds were taken from 22Bet on August 20, 2019 at 20.00)
Young Boys and Crvena Zvezda qualified for the Champions League group stages for the first time last season and will battle it out against each other to be competing against Europe’s best once again.
Champions League Playoff Betting at Betfair
Young Boys Preview – Can Swiss champions reach group stage for a second straight year?
It’s usually Basel competing at the top table in European football but Young Boys are now the dominant force domestically in Switzerland and looking to make a consistent impact in the Champions League. Last year was the first season they made it to the group stage and compete well enough in what was arguably the group of death. The highlight was undoubtedly the 2-1 win over Juventus at home in what was their final group game. That has given the Swiss champions a taste for the big time and they will be looking to get back there at the first time of asking. It’s testament to how well they have done in recent seasons that they are thought to be one of the teams others wished to avoid in these qualifiers.
Gerardo Seoane may only be 40 years old but he’s already carving out a big reputation for himself. His Young Boys team romped to Swiss title last season and in doing so improved on what went before his arrival. He oversaw a decent attempt in the group stages of the Champions League and they have started this season on fire. Four wins and a draw from their first five games in all competitions has set them up nicely for this.
Crvena Zvezda Preview – Can Serbs reach group stages for just the second time?
Crevena Zvezda, otherwise known as Red Star Belgrade, had their greatest moment in their history when winning the 1990/91 European Cup final. It’s been something of a drought since then though as they had never made it to what is considered the proper group stage until last season. A gap of 28 years between those achievements is quite something but they can follow that appearance up very quickly. The Serbian champs also finished bottom of their group last season, like their opponents. Similar to Young Boys they enjoyed a massive win when defeating Liverpool at home 2-0. That success was made even more memorable as the Reds went on to become European champions.
It’s already been a fairly dramatic qualifying campaign for the Serbs. They saw off Suduva without much hassle but only narrowly seen off HJK next time out, winning 3-2 on aggregate. The drama escalated tenfold in the previous round when going all the way to penalties against Copenhagen. It may have been a mammoth tie that ended in a 7-6 win in the shootout, but it was also an indication of how resilient this team are. And that was evident all the way through last year’s qualifying campaign 12 months ago.
Key-Facts – Young Boys v Crvena Zvezda
- Young Boys made it through to the group stages for the first time in their history last season and will be out to repeat that this time around
- Having won the European Cup in 1991, Crvena Zvezda had to wait 28 years before the reach the group stages of the Champions League
- Both teams pulled off stunning victories in last year’s Champions League group stages and have the taste for more
Young Boys v Crvena Zvezda Betting Advice
