Thursday’s top 7 games: Qarabag, Astana, Sabah and others rush to the European Cups
Mikhail Georgiev Aug 16, 2023 09:00 pm UTC Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
August 17 highlights: Europa League and Conference League qualifiers, plus tennis.
A quick transition to this material is in the submenu – “Main matches of the day.”
See all events on August 17 at the Championship Match Center.
Program in summary:
⚽️ 8:00 p.m.: HJK – Qarabag, Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg ⚽️ 8:30 p.m.: PAOK – Hajduk, Conference League, third qualifying round, second leg ⚽️ 9:00 p.m.: Besiktas – “Neftchi, Conference League, third qualifying round, second leg ⚽️ 9:00 p.m.: Ludogorets — Astana, Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg ⚽️ 9:00 p.m.: Genk — Olympiakos, Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg ⚽️ 21: 00: BATE — Sheriff, Europa League, 3rd qualifying round, second leg ⚽️ 22:00: Partizan — Sabah, Conference League, 3rd qualifying round, second leg 🎾 19:00-2:00: Separate tennis time
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The time on the material is indicated in Moscow.
⚽️ 20:00: HJK – Qarabag, Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg
Mystery: Will Qarabag make it to the decisive qualifying round?
The Azerbaijani club flew out of the Champions League qualifiers, losing to Rakuv in the second round. Now Qarabag is fighting for the Europa League group. It turns out successful. In a home match against the Finnish HJK, Gurban Gurbanov’s team won with a score of 2:1. Ahead is the second leg in Helsinki. Will Qarabag be able to keep the lead and advance to the playoff qualifiers? And also bring points to Azerbaijan in the UEFA table.
Karabakh players
Photo: www.qarabagh.com
⚽️ 20:30: PAOK – Hajduk, Conference League, third qualifying round, second leg
Intrigue: Hot showdown between Greek and Croatian clubs
PAOK and Hajduk are frequent participants in European competitions. But one of them definitely won’t be playing in the Conference League this fall. The first match, held in Split, ended in a goalless draw. This makes the PAOK the favorite of the couple. The second leg will take place in Greece. But Hajduk has a chance. Both the Greeks and the Croats are quite emotional. A Hajduk goal will give them a positive charge, but PAOK can “float”. A tough game is expected in terms of emotions.
PAOK footballers
Photo: www.paokfc.gr
⚽️ 21:00: Besiktas – Neftchi, Conference League, third qualifying round, second leg
Mystery: will the bronze medalist of the last championship of Azerbaijan leave the European Cups?
Both Besiktas and Neftchi started from the second qualifying round. The Eagles defeated Albanian Tirana (3:1, 2:0), and the Baku team defeated Bosnian Zheleznichar (2:2, 2:0). In the third stage, the draw brought the teams together. And already in the first meeting, Besiktas showed a difference in the class, having won a guest victory – 3:1. Neftchi only has theoretical chances to pass further. Beating Besiktas in Istanbul with a three goal difference is a super difficult task for Baku residents. But until the second leg is over, Neftchi will definitely not give up.
FC Neftchi
Photo: neftchi.az
⚽️ 21:00: Ludogorets – Astana, Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg
Intrigue: Will the top Kazakh club keep the lead and go further?
Ludogorets and Astana started their European campaign with the Champions League. But in the second round, the Bulgarian club lost to the Slovenian Olimpia, and the Astana team lost to Dinamo Zagreb. The teams were relegated to the Europa League and beat each other. In the first game in Kazakhstan, Astana turned out to be stronger – 2:1. The team goes to Bulgaria with a slight advantage. But will he be able to keep it? Ludogorets is quite a strong club that can recover the handicap. “Astana” will have a difficult game.
FC Astana
Photo: fcastana.kz
⚽️ 21:00: Genk – Olympiacos, Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg
Intrigue: Olympiacos will not survive in Belgium?
Genk is a loser in the Champions League qualification. In the second round, the Belgians lost to the Swiss Servette. Now Genk is fighting for the right to play in the Europa League group with the powerful Olympiacos. In Greece, the rojiblancos achieved a minimal victory, and now the clubs will face each other in Belgium. Genk has a good chance to bounce back and take the win. In the first game, the Belgians did not look worse, but they gave way in the first minute. If Genk comes out focused, Olympiacos will have problems.
Genk footballers
Photo: krcgenk.be
⚽️ 21:00: BATE — Sheriff, Europa League, third qualifying round, second leg
Intrigue: Is the CIS derby becoming a mere formality?
BATE entered the European competition due to the disqualification of Shakhtar Soligorsk and Energetik-BSU after the results of the last season of the Belarusian championship. And, apparently, the Borisovites are not ready for Europe at all. In the second round of the Champions League, BATE lost twice to Aris (2-6, 3-5), although Albanian Partizani went through in the first round. And in the Europa League, the Belarusians met the Moldovan sheriff. And they lost with a score of 1:5 in the first game. Is there a chance to win again? Theoretical only. Furthermore, the teams play the second leg only formally at BATE. The meeting will take place in Hungary. Sheriff is de facto in the Europa League qualifying play-off round.
BATE – Bailiff
Photo: FC BATE
⚽️ 22:00: Partizan – Sabah, Conference League, third qualifying round, second leg
Intrigue: Will Murad Musaev lead Sabah into the Conference League group?
Sabah is the first club in Azerbaijani history to win three games in a row in their debut season in European competition. The success is the work of the Russian coach Murad Musaev. Last season, Sabah finished second in the championship (the best result in the club’s history). Now the team rushes into the Conference League group. In the first match of the third round with Partizan, the Baku team won an unexpected victory with a score of 2:0. Now “Sabah” goes to Belgrade. It will be tough, but the club has an excellent order book. And then just one round before the group stage.
FC Sabah
Photo: sabahfc.az
🎾 7:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m.: separate tennis hours
Due to the time difference, information about the important tennis tournaments that are taking place now appears late. Therefore, we are collecting matches in a separate article – it will appear here.
