Dynamo Kyiv vs SK Sturm Graz Preview

Dynamo Kyiv will welcome Dynamo Austrian Bundesliga side Sturm Graz to their temporary home stadium Stadion Miejski al. Unii Lubelskiej 2, as both sides battle in the first leg of the Champions League group stage qualifying round.

The hosts qualified for this stage of the tournament by beating Turkish giants Fenerbahce 2-1 on aggregate in the previous round. After a goalless draw in the first leg, the Ukrainians came out on top in extra time against their Turkish opponents’ thanks to a goal by Oleksandr Karavayev.

That win was their first UCL win since December 2020, with two draws and five losses since then.

They will now be hoping to make it two consecutive wins in the UCL when Sturm Graz comes visiting and they will be buoyed by their impressive record against Austrian sides (W12, D2, L4).

Meanwhile, the visitors qualified for this stage of the tournament because of their final placement in the Austrian Bundesliga table last season.

They come into this tie on the back of a shock 2-1 win over RB Salzburg at the weekend. That result would have been the perfect warm-up for this clash and they will enter this game hoping to better their record at this stage of the UCL.

The Austrian side have failed in three prior attempts to reach the group stage and will be desperate to avoid another disappointing outing in Europe’s top club tournament.