Champions League Qualifiers Top Betting Picks & Odds

Maccabi Haifa and Olympiacos lock horns in Round 2 of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. There will be two legs in this fixture, first this Wednesday, July 20th. Haifa and Olympiacos have opposed one another twice in the group round of the Champions League. The games took place in the 2002/03 campaign. Haifa was 3-0 winners in the opener, highlighted by a Yakubu Aiyegbeni hat trick. Olympiacos managing to earn one point in reverse on home soil, drawing, 3-3.

Having been close in both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 domestic-league campaigns, Maccabi Haifa ended their 10-year wait for the title. They finishing four points clear of Maccabi Tel Aviv last season, before successfully defending their crown (eight-point margin) in May. They haven’t reached the group phase since 2010, having lost in the first qualifying round to Kazakhstan’s Kairat last summer. They’re now priced at +220 to dispose of the Greek champions, according to the latest odds.

On the other side, Olympiacos won their domestic league in a 19-point rout. They did play many games during the summer break preparing for another successful European season. The last term had then second in their Europa League group, right behind winner Eintracht Frankfurt. They lost, 5-1, on aggregate to Atalanta in the knockout phase.

The visitors come into the game off a tumultuous pre-season campaign, winning twice in eight games, but losing four. However, they have retained key attackers Youssef El-Arabi and Tiquinho and will depend on them to produce the goods. Olympiacos does have more experience at this level, so we expect them to a positive result at home. We won’t risk betting on a straight win, but will play them with PK on our soccer picks and parlays.

Haifa’s midfielder Mahmoud Jaber suffered an injury against Hapoel Beer Sheva, and the Israel international will now miss both matches against Olympiacos. It’s very important to note that Olympiacos scored exactly one goal in each of their last five, while the hosts have failed to find the back of the net in two of their last three. If you want to bet the goals market, go with the under here.

Pick: Olympiacos pick ’em -115

HJK vs Plzen

Viktoria Plzen will get their UEFA Champions League qualification campaign underway as well, visiting the Sonera Stadium to oppose HJK Wednesday. Hosts needed penalties to knock out Latvian outfit RFS in the previous round, and they enter this double-legged tie after a 3-1 win over Vaasan Palloseura in their domestic league. However, the home team has been having trouble in the second round of the Champions League lately. In fact, they’ve lost in the third round of qualifying in each of the last three. Thus, we give them exactly zero chance, so if you’re soccer betting, fade them.

Viktoria Plzen won the Czech First League title for the first time in four years. They finished one spot behind Slavia Prague in the regular-season standings, but defeated Slavia Prague in the Championship Group to win. The visitors have a better defense than their counterparts, with eight clean sheets in their last 10 (three in last five).

They are unbeaten in most of their past outings over different competitions, only negative in the past 25 outings was in a friendly meeting against St. Truiden at home. They also have an amazing away record, unbeaten in each of their previous dozen road fixtures. Expect Plzen to solve qualification issues from the first leg and get the win.

Pick: Viktoria Plzen -125