Slovan Bratislava vs Celje

Tehelné pole forms the backdrop for the second leg of an evenly-poised Champions League qualifying tie between Slovan Bratislava and Celje.

Following a comprehensive 6-3 aggregate win over North Macedonian outfit Struga in the first qualifying round, Slovan Bratislava had to fight back from an early deficit to pick up a 1-1 draw in Slovenia last weekend. Both goals in an evenly-contested first leg came inside the opening 11 minutes, suggesting a quick-fire start could be on the cards. Adding to this sentiment, Vladimir Wiess’ men thumped domestic rivals Komarno 4-1 at the weekend after breaking the deadlock in the fifth minute and subsequently taking a 2-1 lead at halftime. Though the hosts come into this pivotal clash as pre-match favorites, their topsy-turvy four-game competitive form on home turf means they can’t afford to take anything for granted (W2, D1, L1).

As for Celje, this is somewhat unfamiliar territory for them, considering they only appeared at this stage of Europe’s top-tier competition once before, losing 2-1 to Molde on aggregate in 2020/21. However, a thumping 5-0 away win over Estonian minnows Flora Tallinn in the previous qualifying round could be a decent confidence boost for Albert Riera’s team as they head to Bratislava on a four-game unbeaten streak this season (W3, D1). However, the visitors have delivered a mixed bag of performance across their last eight continental road trips (W4, L4), with the most recent three seeing the winner on the day score 4+ goals. As they emerged victorious twice on those three occasions, the Counts might feel comfortable producing another goal fest.