Famous coach and football expert Oleh Fedorchuk analyzed the situation ahead of the return leg of the 1/16 finals of the Conference League between Dnipro-1 and AEK Larnaca.
"This was the third face-to-face meeting between the teams this season, and Dnipro-1 failed in all the previous ones. If in the Europa League qualifiers the loss could be attributed to the fact that the coaching staff was just getting to know the team, now these excuses do not apply.
In my opinion, it was the wrong strategy for the game. The Ukrainian team practically did not threaten the opponent's goal, as evidenced by the statistics of shots: 13:6 in favor of AEK. The Cypriots acted more primitively, and it paid off.
But even under such circumstances, Dnipro-1 has enough chances for overall success. They have players who can decide the fate of the match. The Achilles' heel of the current Dnipro-1 is standard positions near their goal. This component must be taken very seriously.
Since the away goal rule has been canceled, this makes the task a little easier. AEK doesn't look as convincing away from home as it does on the field. The Dnipro team needs to forget all the failures associated with the Cypriot club and go into this game as if it were the final. I want to believe in a successful outcome for us. So I'm betting on a minimal 2-1 victory for Dnipro-1, which will then win in a penalty shootout," Fedorchuk said.