The journey to the UEFA Champions League group stage is at a crucial point this week as the Play-Off Round begins. On 20.08.2025, the first legs of Europe’s last qualifying matches will take place, with fourteen teams battling for the final seven spots in this season’s tournament.
The Play-Off Round is always one of the most exciting parts of the summer. For some teams, it’s a chance to secure their spot among Europe’s best, while for others, it’s the last challenge after months of hard work and qualifying matches. Every goal, every save, and every choice will be super important as clubs compete not just for honor but also for the money and attention that come with making it to the league phase.
The Champions Path brings together domestic champions looking to continue their European adventures, while the League Path gives a chance to clubs from stronger leagues that just missed out on direct qualification.
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Basel vs FC Copenhagen
FC Basel 1893 versus FC Copenhagen in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off round, and it will take place at St. Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland.
Basel has been really good at home, winning their last 2 games there in local competitions and scoring a total of 6 goals. They usually score about 3 goals in each home game this season and depend on players like Thierno Barry to help them score. Their recent performance shows they can attack well, but they sometimes let in goals, having done so in 5 out of their last 5 matches. They are feeling very confident as they head into Europe.
Basel didn’t take part in the earlier qualifying rounds because of their ranking and position in the league, so they are starting their European journey at the play-off stage.
Copenhagen has been really tough to beat in Europe, not letting in any goals during the qualifiers and scoring 8 times in those 4 games. They have a balanced strategy, with players like Mohamed Elyounoussi and Viktor Claesson playing important roles in their offense. Their away performance is strong but a bit more cautious, and their unbeaten run helps keep their spirits high.
In the Second Qualifying Round, Copenhagen completely outplayed Drita, winning with an aggregate score of 3-0. They were also better than Malmo, with an aggregate score of 5-0.
3+ (Over2.5)
Predicted CS: 2:1
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Bodo/Glimt vs Sturm Graz
Bodo/Glimt versus SK Sturm Graz in the UEFA Champions League play-off round, taking place at Aspmyra Stadion in Bodo, Norway.
Bodo/Glimt has the top offensive and defensive stats in the Norwegian Eliteserien, scoring 49 goals and allowing only 17 this season. They are averaging 2.6 goals per game in their latest matches. Some standout players are the forwards who have scored multiple goals, showing great confidence from their success at home.
Key players include Kasper Waarst Høgh and Patrick Berg. The team is currently on a 9-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, demonstrating a high-scoring, attacking style.
On the other hand, Sturm Graz is a strong and compact team with good results when playing away, but their recent loss at home to SK Rapid shows they might have some defensive issues against quick teams.
They often use counter-attacks, with Otar Kiteishvili being an important player in midfield. Their away games tend to be more cautious, with fewer goals, which could be a problem against aggressive teams.
Both Bodo/Glimt and Sturm Graz go straight into the play-off round because they are the reigning champions of their leagues, with Bodo being the champion of the Norwegian Eliteserien and Sturm Graz being the champion of the Austrian Bundesliga, along with their UEFA club coefficients. They did not take part in the earlier qualifying rounds.
1 (Bodo/Glimt to Win)
Predicted CS: 3:1
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Celtic vs Kairat Almaty
Celtic from Scotland and Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan are set to face off in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off round at Celtic Park located in Glasgow, Scotland.
Celtic goes straight to the play-off round because they are the current champions of the Scottish Premiership and have a strong UEFA club coefficient. This means they skip the earlier qualifying rounds thanks to their league ranking and previous performances in Europe.
Celtic is seen as a strong team because of their high quality, the advantage of playing at home in Celtic Park where they hardly ever lose, and their solid defense. Because of all this, they are considered heavy favorites, with betting odds suggesting they have an 86% chance of winning.
Kairat Almaty, being the champions of Kazakhstan, kicked off in the first qualifying round and made their way through three rounds to get to the play-offs. Their journey included: First qualifying round against Olimpija Ljubljana where they won 3:1 on aggregate, second qualifying round against KuPS where they won 3:2 on aggregate, and in the third qualifying round against Slovan Bratislava, they moved forward by winning on penalties.
1 & 3+ (Celtic to Win & Over2.5)
Predicted CS: 3:0
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Fenerbahce vs Benfica
Fenerbahce from Turkey and Benfica from Portugal are facing off in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off round. This match will take place at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium located in Istanbul, Turkey.
Fenerbahce played against the Dutch team Feyenoord. In the first match, they lost 2-1 in Rotterdam, which put them in a tough spot. But in the second match at home, they made an amazing comeback, winning 5-2 and taking the overall victory 6-4.
This showed how strong they are at attacking and how they can handle pressure, scoring five goals even though they let in two. Some important stats from this round are that there was an average of 3 goals scored in each match and Fenerbahce was really strong at home, turning around a two-goal deficit.
Benfica faced the French club Nice. They won the first match 2-0, which gave them a good lead without letting any goals in. In the second match, they won again, finishing with a 4-0 overall win, showing how solid their defense is and how well they finish their chances.
Benfica’s performance showed they can control the game, not allowing any goals in both matches while scoring an average of 2 goals per match.
Fenerbahce’s home advantage is a big reason why they have won many important games in Istanbul lately, including their 5-2 win over Feyenoord. Their strong attacking could take advantage of Benfica’s occasional weaknesses when they play away, even though Benfica has a tough defense.
GG (BTTS-Yes)
Predicted CS: 2:1
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