Dynamo Kyiv vs RB Salzburg Preview

Dynamo Kyiv will look to get the first-leg advantage in this Champions League group stage qualifying tie against Austrian side RB Salzburg.

The Ukrainian side booked their place in this round of the competition thanks to a 3-1 aggregate win over ten-man Rangers in the last round. All they need to do now is win this double-legged tie against Salzburg and they will be part of the league stage of the reformatted Champions League.

Dynamo Kyiv have not been successful in their previous attempts as they were ultimately demolished by Beşiktaş and Benfica in the past two seasons, perhaps in part because being forced to play continental ‘home’ legs abroad appears to have hurt their prospects. Their 6-2 win over Partizan in the second qualifying round of this UCL is one of just two victories as the ‘home’ team from seven such games since 2022/23 (D1, L4).

Meanwhile, RB Salzburg secured a 5-4 aggregate win over Twente to book their place in this round. The Austrian side followed that up with a 1-0 win over LASK in their last domestic game making it eight games without defeat for them (W7, D1).

New head coach Pepijn Lijnders will now be looking to continue on that run as he targets a sixth straight UCL league/group stage appearance. His side are one club that may benefit from effectively playing in a neutral game, having won just one of their last 12 matches (D5, L6) away from home across all competitions.