Dynamo Kiev vs Fenerbahce

Turkish heavyweights Fenerbahce head to the Stadion Miejski al. Unii Lubelskiej 2, Poland, to take on Ukrainian powerhouse Dynamo Kiev in the first leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie.

A lack of competitive form could crush Dynamo Kiev’s hopes of returning to the Champions League for the first time since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Dynamo’s last competitive fixture dates back to December 2021, while Mircea Lucescu’s men have lost back-to-back summer friendlies in the build-up to this encounter. However, the ‘Blue & Whites’ have the Champions League H2H record firmly on their side, having gone unbeaten in all four previous meetings with Fenerbahce in Europe’s most prestigious competition (W2, D2). Kiev would rather forget their most recent Champions League campaign as they went winless in all six group stage matches in 2021/22 (D1, L5), failing to get on the scoresheet in five.

On the other hand, Fenerbahce, who have suffered defeats in both previous Champions League visits to the Ukrainian capital, enjoyed a stellar pre-season campaign. Since drawing 2-2 with North Macedonia champions Shkupi in their opening off-season fixture, the ‘Yellow Canaries’ have won five consecutive summer friendlies by an aggregate score of 14-2, keeping four clean sheets in the process. Despite slipping to a 3-2 defeat to Slavia Praha in their most recent continental road trip, Fenerbahce can draw confidence from a high-flying away form that has seen them go unbeaten in their last six matches on hostile turf (W5, D1). More importantly, Jorge Jesus’ men have scored 4+ goals in four of their most recent five competitive travels.