Mariehamn vs Legia Warsaw
UEFA Champions League 2017/18 – Second qualifying round
Date: Wednesday, 12th July 2017
Kick-off at 19:00 UK/ 20:00 CET
Venue: Wiklof Holding Arena (Mariehamn).
Match Preview & Betting Tips
IFK Mariehamn have managed to surprise everyone and win Finnish Veikkausliiga last season in incredibly dramatic fashion. This bought them a ticket for European debut, in UCL qualifiers where they will be facing the champion of Poland Ekstraklasa and last year’s participants of group stages Legia Warszawa. The first leg match is played in Finland this Wednesday and we are expecting to see a low – scoring affair.
Hosts have failed so hard to repeat the performances in their domestic division, sitting in 4th position seventeen rounds into the new campaign. Inability to return from games away from home with points is one of the main reasons for that, and it is almost impossible for them to get back into the race for the title with HJK. The bookies have marked Mariehamn as huge underdogs to beat Legia.
A couple of important players have left Warszawa this summer. Nemanja Nikolic has made a move to Chicago Fire, currently being the top goal scorer in MLS, while Qazaishwili became new player of Vitesse.
The new season for Jacek Magiera and his squad didn’t start well. Legia Warswaza have lost the Super Cup match played last Friday against Arka Gdynia on penalties. Six out of their last seven games across all competitions have ended with two or less goals. Since they don’t have a reason to rush anywhere in Finland, we feel confident backing Under 2.5 FT bet with big stake. The current odds are at 3/4.
Mariehamn vs Legia Warsaw: Head-to-head
This is the first h2h meeting between IFK Mariehamn and Legia Warsaw.
Mariehamn vs Legia Warsaw: Prediction
Form-wise, Mariehamn are in a decent run, especially with their strong record at home stadium. They are unbeaten in the last four and lost just once in 9 matches in all competitions.
On the other hand, Legia opened the 2017 season with a 2-1 defeat in the Super Cup against Arka on the weekend. Without enough competitive matches under their belt, fitness could become an issue here. Therefore, one must back the Finns to salvage something out of this game, setting up an interesting second leg clash.
