CHAMPIONS LEAGUE BETTING PREVIEW - CRVENA ZVEZDA VS PAFOS

Champions League

2025-08-19 - Crvena Zvezda vs Pafos

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Crvena Zvezda v Pafos
Football: UEFA Champions League Play Off Round First Leg
Tuesday 19th August 2025 - Kick Off 8pm

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Preview

Winning Qualifying ties in the Champions League is always going to be tough for those teams involved at this stage of the competition, but the prize of potentially facing some of the very biggest teams on the continent provides ample motivation. A lot of the teams trying to join the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in the League Phase of the competition are used to winning plenty of domestic matches, and that makes these early ties harder to negotiate when going up against opponents that have plenty of confidence of their own.

The Serbian and Cypriot Champions have shown their mettle in reaching the Play Off Round of the Champions League Qualifiers and both will be playing in the new look League Phase of either this competition or the Europa League. You have to believe that both Crvena Zvezda and Pafos are very happy with the opponent they have drawn in this Play Off Round and the feeling is that home advantage is going to be key in both Legs.

After seeing off Lincoln Red Imps and Lech Poznan, it is Crvena Zvezda who will be hosting the First Leg and they will be desperate to have some kind of lead to defend next week.

They have become the dominant team domestically and Crvena Zvezda are unbeaten in 15 games in all competitions, including all 8 played this season. Last week, Crvena Zvezda conceded deep into injury time in the 1-1 home draw with Lech Poznan, but they won 4-2 on aggregate and the side have won 7 of their 8 games played in all competitions this season.

Prior to that draw, Crvena Zvezda had won 14 of 15 games played in front of what is always a passionate home support, while the club have a lot of European experience to guide them through this tie. Last season they played in the new look Champions League Group Stage and beat Stuttgart here, while Crvena Zvezda have won 6 of their last 9 home UEFA fixtures played in these Qualifying Rounds.

With all that said, the Serbian Champions have to have a lot of respect for Pafos and all that they have achieved in this run to the Champions League Play Off Round. Recent investment has pushed the club forward and they won their first major trophy domestically in May 2024, which meant a first ever European adventure last season and Pafos were crowned Cyprus Champions a few months ago.

Wins over Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dynamo Kyiv will have gotten plenty of attention, while Pafos reached the Last 16 of the Conference League in their maiden UEFA season. However, the team were crushed in the Europa League Qualifiers before dropping into the Conference League, and Pafos were well beaten by Djurgarden in the Last 16, which has also made the two Qualifying wins in the Champions League impress even more.

It should be noted that Pafos have yet to have a 'proper' away tie in the Champions League run- they have beaten their last two opponents 0-1 in the 'away Leg', but both were played on neutral field and travelling to Belgrade is a much different test of character.

Last season Pafos were beaten in 6 of 9 away ties played in Europe, while only winning one of those.

Pafos are unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions and they have won 7 of those games, while the wins in the Champions League have given them momentum.

Prediction

All credit has to be given to Pafos for upsetting the odds in back to back Qualifying ties and that means they will be playing at a higher level in European Football than last season when a part of the Conference League.

The Cypriot Champions would love to earn a spot in the Champions League, even if they are unlikely to be playing beyond the League Phase.

Pafos will feel the most important ambition in this First Leg is to return home with the tie in the balance, but containing Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade is going to be very tough.

The home team have a lot of experience and they were reduced to ten men before conceding in the 1-1 draw with Lech Poznan here last week. That is the sole exception to the start of this campaign with Crvena Zvezda winning 7 of 8 games played in all competitions, while the team have won 6 of their last 9 home Qualifying ties in UEFA settings.

Respect has to be given to Pafos for the back to back 0-1 wins against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Dynamo Kyiv when playing outside of Cyprus, but neutral field wins are much different than winning in what is likely to be a hostile atmosphere.

Those fans can push the home team forward and a narrow win for Crvena Zvezda is the expectation.

The Pick :

Crvena Zvezda 1-0 Pafos

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Crvena Zvezda to Win at 1.66 with BetFred