Rakow – FC Copenhagen

Champions League Qualification Final Round Leg 1
Sosnowiec, August 22, 21:00 CET

FC Copenhagen won't give up their attacking style of play even in the final qualifying round of the Champions League, away to Polish champions Rakow.
The Danish champions showed at the start of the season that they have improved their already solid team, compared to the spring months. The maximum score after five rounds of domestic Superliga and excellent performances in the previous qualifying rounds for European elite - all these are the reasons why, overall, in the two legs, FC Copenhagen is still a slight favorite to advance to the group stage.
However, Rakow is dominant on their home court, and this summer, apparently, the Polish team has completely focused on European matches. Counting on Rakow's efficiency as the host and FC Copenhagen's excellent goalscoring form that has been going on for months, both teams can be expected to score in this match.
For Rakow this is a historic opportunity, the team has never played in the Champions League group stage. One gets the impression that the Polish club lacks the experience of playing matches against strong European opponents. As a result, with a high probability, there could be a scenario in which the visitors from Denmark will manage to score at least a goal away from home.
Rakow has won in three matches, which they have played on their home field since the start of the qualifiers. However, the form suffered in the domestic championship, the team had two draws and a defeat in the last six games in all competitions. On the other hand, FC Copenhagen plays powerfully and efficiently. Away draw against Sparta in Prague (0:0) in the previous round was conditioned by the fact that the Danes played with a player less for most of the second half.
The visitors are expected to perform with a standard, highly effective attacking trio. The team is unbeaten in the last 16 matches, and FC Copenhagen has won in their last nine away games! Rakow has four wins and a draw in the last five matches as a host, and in those five games the Polish champions scored 12 and conceded five goals. Both teams seem confident offensively and there is no reason to end that excellent streak in this match, although in the final qualifying round a slightly more cautious approach is expected from these rivals.
In the last 12 out of 14 games played by FC Copenhagen, this team managed to score at least two goals. This is the best evidence not only of the quality, but also of the approach with which the visitors will enter the match in Poland.
Fabian Piasecki is expected to lead the attack for the hosts, despite not playing the previous weekend due to injury problems. FC Copenhagen has faster, technically better players on the wings and that is a big advantage for the visitors. Tunisian Achouri, young Swedish star Bardghji and Icelandic teenager Oskarsson will be a big threat for Rakow. It is difficult to expect that the issue of passengers to the CL group stage will be resolved already after the first leg in Poland - but a quality game with goals on both sides is guaranteed.