FC Copenhagen – Breidablik

Champions League Qualifying Round 3

FC Copenhagen deserved the chance to play more relaxed on Wednesday against Breidablik, not only thanks to a very mature game in their Champions League Qualifying Round 3 first leg (2:0 away win in Iceland).
More important than that is the impression that the club from the Danish capital played at an exceptional level throughout July, increasing their confidence from match to match and acting more and more ruthless offensively. Against Breidablik in Iceland, the duel was routinely settled by halftime, and the scoreless 2nd half showed the extent to which FC Copenhagen is capable of slowing down and restraining the rival and doing the job without a mistake.
On the other hand, Breidablik has been at a top attacking level since the start of the season. This is a team that scored 15 goals in the previous two rounds (four matches) of the Champions League qualification, before the first leg duel with FC Copenhagen! In the last ten games, only once did Breidablik fail to score a goal, precisely in that match against FC Copenhagen, a 2:0 loss in a game played on July 25th.
That match showed, first of all, that Breidablik has quality, but not the experience of playing difficult elimination matches against favorites, which FC Copenhagen is. The players of the Icelandic team obviously had a hard time with that defeat, so they unexpectedly only drew 1:1 against Stjarnan, in the Icelandic Urvalsdeild league, on their field at the weekend.
FC Copenhagen, on the other hand, won 3:2 away from home against Vejla on July 29 – and continued a series of good attacking performances. This team, when the matches from the end of the previous season are also counted, achieved six victories in the last eight games since the beginning of May. In those eight matches, FC Copenhagen managed to score a goal in each one, and only once less than two goals (against Randers 1:1 in the match played on June 4).
Simply, the "lions" from Copenhagen believe that this season they can at least repeat the excellent games, both in the qualifiers and in the group stage of the Champions League, from the previous season 2022-23. At that time, the Danish club first of all showed that they are excellent on their own ground - they avoided defeats against clear favorites: Manchester City (later champions of the continent and Premier League), Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla (Europa League winners).
Jordan Larsson is in excellent form, he scored the first goal against Breidablik away, and then in the victory against Vejla at the weekend, Larsson was the first to score again. Coach Jacob Neestrup's team doesn't want to slow down the pace in any way, and in a celebratory and relaxed atmosphere in front of the home fans, an attacking game can be expected. The good news is the recovery of Nicolai Boilesen, who will play at least in the second half. The home team is still without important reinforcement, the Norwegian forward Mohamed Elyounoussi (not yet registered for the Champions League) - but even without him, FC Copenhagen showed that they are an extremely efficient team.
Extremely important for the prediction of this match is the fact that the proud Breidablik, by far the best Icelandic club, will also play offensively. Forward from the Faroe Islands Klaemint Olsen will lead the well-organized offensive line of the visiting team. The Breidablik players are aware that at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen they have the opportunity to say goodbye to the Champions League in an honorable way. This is a team that has won four in a row away from home and will play with a certain openness from the start.
The victory of FC Copenhagen should not be in question, and since the match will be devoid of a great tactical battle and it is about efficient teams - we can expect at least three goals in this match. Also, you should pay attention to the bid for both teams to score a goal - because the important fact is that in the last ten matches played, Breidablik only failed to hit the opponent's net once.