Dynamo Kyiv VS Larnaca

Dynamo Kiev and Larnaca lock horns in this UEFA Europa League group stage round 2 clash at Stadion MKS Cracovia in Kraków early Friday morning Beijing time. This is the second highest of UEFA’s club competitions after Champions League. The hosts finished second in Ukrainian Premier League last season just two behind Shakhtar Donetsk and allowed just nine goals! Once again they do not get the respect they would deserve from the bookies! Let’s keep in mind that Shakhtar have performed very well in the Champions League group stage this season. The match is played at Stadion MKS Cracovia in Poland because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. This means that the home advantage is, of course, smaller than it would normally be but there are millions of Ukrainians living in Poland so they well get some support here. Many Polish people also like Ukraine and are expected to cheer for Kiev here. The hosts are better than the visitors from Cyprus in all areas of the game and are very clear favorites here. The level of football in Cyprus is weaker than often believed and has been in decline in recent years. Especially away from home teams from this island rarely take wins.

The hosts are a much bigger team by historical success and financial resources. They have even played in Champions League in the past. According to a well-known and respected German website Transfermarkt.com the hosts is valued at 109.80 million euros. The visitors’ players have a total market value of just around 14 million. The market values can, of course, be misleading, but the bookies and professional football bettors pay increasingly more attention to these numbers.. The football (players) market is, after all, a global one. However, if two players are equally good and one of them is 24 years old and the other is 34 years old the younger guy, of course, has a much bigger market value. I would say the 109.80 million is a bit too low. As for the Larnaca the number is more or less correct. Both teams suffered a narrow loss in the opening round. The hosts traveled to Turkey but Fenerbahce were, unsurprisingly, too strong. Kiev were not at their best but can improve, especially offensively and will surely get a lot of chances here against visitors' shaky defense. Larnaca, on the other hand, did not convince me at home against Rennes losing 1-2.. The hosts have quite a few absentees here but I think the betting market has over-reacted to the missing players.