Champions League Qualifiers: Eight Ties to Watch on 4 August

Published 3 August 2026, 13:49 CEST

At 19:30 in Szombathely, Hapoel Be'er Sheva are the home side and Crvena zvezda have the shorter road. A Champions League qualifier has begun in stranger circumstances, but this is a fine place to start. One team has the nominal home leg without its own ground; the other can arrive with its own support within reach.

Tuesday's card puts that tension in eight different stadiums. Mjällby bring a settled qualifying rhythm into a meeting with Slovan Bratislava. Hapoel Be'er Sheva must create a home mood in Hungary against Crvena zvezda. Union Saint-Gilloise meet Bodø/Glimt in Oostende, which is a very Belgian setting for a tie that could turn on who finds their usual football first. There is no aggregate rescue act yet. That makes the opening decisions more interesting.

I do not need a selection in every match. A first leg can be tight because both sides respect the return, or open because one side has made its attacking plan a habit. Those are different games, and a good preview should know the difference.

Mjällby v Slovan Bratislava: the neatest collision on the card

Mjällby's case starts with Karl Marius Aksum's shape. His preferred 3-2-4-1 gives the side numbers between the lines and licence for the wing-backs to join the attack. Against Lincoln Red Imps at Strandvallen, it did not produce a scrappy home win. Mjällby took the initiative, Áki Samuelsen scored twice, and his second came from a flowing combination rather than a hopeful cross.

Samuelsen stayed on after an early scare on Gibraltar's artificial surface, and the return finished without a Mjällby injury or suspension complicating this tie. That matters because he gives Aksum a direct route from that 3-2-4-1 into the box. The 0-0 away leg was sensible management on a poor surface, not a retreat from the football that made the first leg one-sided.

Slovan are a stronger test. They won 2-0 in Tbilisi and also went to Banská Bystrica to win 4-0 in their domestic opener. They will not arrive merely to protect a score. Still, Mjällby have a repeatable home route: build the extra player high, move Slovan's midfield from side to side, then let Samuelsen and the front line attack the space that opens. I favour the Swedes to carry the cleaner version of the match, though a draw would surprise nobody.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva v Crvena zvezda: a home leg away from home

The venue changes the story before the ball moves. UEFA list this Hapoel home fixture at Haladás Stadium in Szombathely, not Beer Sheva. That does not remove the Israeli side's responsibility to set the pace, but it does remove some of the familiar cues that usually come with a first leg at home.

Hapoel got here by overturning a one-goal first-leg deficit against Víkingur Reykjavík, winning 2-0 in the return for a 3-2 aggregate success. Crvena zvezda arrive with four wins from four competitive games, 17 goals scored, and a 4-0 then 5-0 dismissal of Larne. Form is only the start of the case, though.

Ran Kozuk's Hapoel use a 4-3-3. Dejan Stanković has identified their aggressive build-up and quick transitions as the parts Zvezda must disrupt, with the Serbian side looking to win the ball high. He has also raised the question of how Hapoel replace Kings Kangwa after his MVP campaign last season. That is the football behind Zvezda -0.5: Hapoel want to play through the first pressure, and Zvezda have come to attack that exact moment rather than wait in a low block.

The venue still matters, as does Hapoel's comeback against Víkingur. Yet it does not make this a quiet night by default. If Hapoel commit to their usual construction, Bruno Duarte and the Zvezda forwards should see transition opportunities quickly. The risk is that Kozuk asks for a more conservative first hour and turns the match into a draw. I still prefer the visitors.

Union Saint-Gilloise v Bodø/Glimt: two clubs with a problem of place

Union's listed home venue is KVDO Arena in Oostende, while their Belgian league season does not begin until 8 August. Bodø/Glimt arrive in the middle of a live domestic run. Their 4-0 win over Lillestrøm was a fifth straight league victory and a fifth consecutive clean sheet, with Ole Didrik Blomberg, Sondre Brunstad Fet and Jens Petter Hauge all on the scoresheet.

That form comes with one important qualification. Håkon Evjen has a knee injury and Bodø/Glimt have confirmed that the midfielder will be out for a period. His absence reduces one option, but it does not make the visitors passive. Hauge scored in each of the last two league wins, while Patrick Berg kept the midfield moving against Lillestrøm.

The useful tension is between Union's need to establish the ball in a temporary home and a Bodø/Glimt side already accustomed to controlling league matches. I am wary of assuming that the nominal home side automatically owns this fixture. The opening spell should show whether Union can put Glimt's back line under pressure, or whether the Norwegian side make it a game of patient possession and defend their clean-sheet run. That points me to a measured total rather than a side.

Five quick reads

Ararat-Armenia v Celje

Ararat-Armenia used a 2-0 home win to survive a difficult return at Shamrock Rovers. Celje needed extra time and penalties after two high-scoring draws with Egnatia. The game asks whether Celje can turn a turbulent last round into control, or whether Ararat make the first leg another Yerevan problem. I would rather watch that answer than manufacture a selection.

GNK Dinamo v Kauno Žalgiris

Dinamo needed extra time to beat Thun in Zagreb. Kauno Žalgiris needed only one goal across 180 minutes against KÍ Klaksvík. That contrast makes the opening hour more interesting than a broad comparison of club size: Dinamo need to turn territorial control into a lead, while Kauno have already shown comfort without the ball. The large handicap can wait.

Levski Sofia v Kairat Almaty

Levski protected their 1-0 first-leg lead at Universitatea Craiova well enough to advance 3-2. Kairat took a more dramatic path, recovering a 1-0 deficit against Omonia before winning the shoot-out. The Bulgarian side have the first home leg; Kairat have already proved that a difficult European night does not pull them apart. The travelling side's resilience is the reason I leave this one alone.

Olympiacos v N.E.C.

Olympiacos and N.E.C. join at this stage through the league path, so neither brings a qualifying scoreline into the first leg. Karaiskakis gives Olympiacos a familiar home setting, while N.E.C. can approach the first half of the tie without an existing deficit. The hosts may prove too strong, but there is no European evidence from this summer that demands a big call before kick-off.

Sparta Praha v Lyon

Sparta and Lyon are another league-path meeting, and Stadion Letná is the sort of setting that makes an away favourite earn every clean possession. The first game will be decided less by old reputation than by which midfield wins the second ball after a broken attack. Lyon may have the higher ceiling. Sparta have the setting to make their opponent show it. No need to force a position.

Those passes are part of the reading. Dinamo need a bigger result than their own previous round suggests. Levski face a Kairat side that survived the kind of return leg this competition likes to produce. Olympiacos and Lyon may well win, but a big badge is not an analysis. There are enough better questions elsewhere.

Best angles on the card

Cian Murphy's pick

My pick is Mjällby -0.25 at 1.800 on PS3838.

Mjällby's previous round gives this pick its shape, but the way they played it matters more than the score. Aksum's 3-2-4-1 created the combinations that freed Samuelsen twice against Lincoln Red Imps. Slovan are a better opponent, clearly, but I trust Mjällby to make the first leg a game played in their preferred areas. The risk is the draw, not a lack of intent. Slovan's recent 4-0 says that risk is real.

Why this card suits PS3838

Qualifying football asks awkwardly specific questions. Is Dinamo capable of winning by the number the handicap requires? Can a temporary home feel like one? Does a 0-0 suit both sides, or only the visitors? A basic match-winner market cannot always answer them. Asian handicaps and alternative totals give the reader a closer fit when the football points somewhere more precise.

PS3838 is Pinnacle's white-label sportsbook, with strong Asian handicap depth, alternative totals and serious limits. AsianConnect88 gives access to it through one account, alongside the broader platform choice explained in the AsianConnect88 review. For the rest of this week, keep an eye on the match previews. First legs create the evidence. Second legs collect it.