The current champion of Slovenia, Maribor, will welcome Sheriff in the first match of the second round of Champions League qualification. "Purple" reached this stage after a triumph over our Belarusian Shakhtar, while the Moldovan club defeated Zrinjski after a great fight. After a goalless draw in Slovenia, it was impossible to guess how the duel in Soligorsk would end. Maribor were clear favourites after the draw, but that changed when they couldn't beat Shakhtar in front of their fans. However, he justified that role only on the road, with a 2-0 victory. Maribor will also be the favourite in this match, in my opinion, not because of their strength, but because the Moldovan champion was left without several important players. Last year, Sheriff was a sensation in European competitions on the way to the Champions League, they knocked out Crvena Zvezda and Dinamo Zagreb, and then in the groups, they managed to beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu!!! They also did not show much in the double-header against Zrinjski, they won in Moldavia with their own goal by the defender of Zrinjski, and it is unlikely that they will repeat their success this year as they did last year. This is a duel between two teams that, in my opinion, are of equal quality, so I expect an uncertain game, but I would give the advantage to Maribor in the first game because they play in their stadium and in front of the home crowd.

My prediction;

Outcome: Maribor +0