Against the backdrop of the World Cup, the club football tournaments are getting underway. On Thursday, 9 July, the first match of the first qualifying round of the Europa League between Dynamo (Kyiv) and FC Universitatea (Cluj) will take place at the Lublin Arena in Poland.
Dynamo Kyiv
The Kyiv side are regular participants in European competitions. Igor Kostyuk’s team are hoping to perform better than they did last season.
The biggest hopes in attack rest on Matviy Ponomarenko (who scored 16 goals last season) and the 36-year-old legendary midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko.
Universitatea Cluj
The Romanian club has also completed its pre-season preparations. The team from Cluj failed to secure a single victory in three friendly matches over the past two weeks.
Last season, the team narrowly missed out on their first national league title, finishing second in the table.
Prediction
The Kyiv side are hoping for a big win to ensure a comfortable second leg.
The Romanians certainly have every chance of causing problems for Dynamo. The Kyiv side are capable of winning, but a draw where both teams score looks a perfectly plausible outcome.
