Our prediction for this Champions League match:
APOEL Nicosia
Match Time & Date:
17/07/2018
01:00 PM
Prediction: 3-0
Suduva
Against all odds, APOEL suffered a 3-1 loss to Suduva in Lithuania in the first leg of the Champions League first qualifying round. The Cypriotes scored a vital away goal in the dying minutes of the match, which helped them keep their hopes of booking their place in the second qualifying round alive. APOEL participate in the group stages of the elite competition last term and they certainly want to repeat the success. In the last season’s qualifiers APOEL defeated the likes of Dudelange, Viitorul and Slavia Prague at home, which is surely giving fans a reason for optimism ahead of Tuesday’s football match. Bruno Baltazar’s troops are a real force to be reckoned with at home and we predict that they are going to overcome the deficit in the return leg. Anyhow, APOEL defenders should have Rigino Cicilia, who scored a hat-trick in the first leg, at bay.
Highlighted Player (Kostakis Artymatas):
Kostakis Artymatas is a Cypriot international who plays for APOEL. Artymatas joined Enosis Neon Paralimni at the age of eight and after spending eight years at the club, he moved to England in 2009. The Cypriot footballer spent three years at the City Ground and in 2012 he returned to Enosis.
After making 18 league appearances for the club in the 2012/2013 season, he signed a deal with fellow Cypriot club APOEL on 14 June, 2013. He made his APOEL debut on 11 November, 2013 against Alki Larnaca, coming from the bench ten minutes before the end. Kostakis Artymatas is a defensive midfielder who plays as a centre back as well and he was born on 15 April, 1993 in Paralimni.
The APOEL footballer has seven caps for Cyprus U21 team and he made his debut for the first team on 12 October, 2012 against Slovenia. Kostakis Artymatas has a contract with APOEL, which expires on 31 May, 2017. He is a right-footed player.
Highlighted Team (APOEL Nicosia):
APOEL are a Cypriot football club based in Nicosia. The Thrylos were founded on 8 November, 1926 and they won their first league trophy in 1932, defeating AEL Limassol 4-0 in the final. Over the years APOEL have established themselves as one of the best teams in Cyprus and they won their 25th domestic trophy in 2016.
The Thrylos participated in the 2014/2015 Champions League group stages, but they failed to make life difficult for the likes of PSG, Ajax and Barcelona, picking up no more than one point from possible 18. APOEL share a great rivalry with Omonia and the meeting between two teams is well known as the Nicosia derby.
A number of foreign footballers played for APOEL and it has to be noted that the likes of Daniel Florea, Dudu Biton, Marcos Tavares, Paul Okon, Dragisa Binic, Nenad Milosavljevic, Paulo Costa, Tiago Gomes, Alexandros Tziolis and Fernando Cavenaghi were all part of the team in the past. The colour of APOEL’s home kits is yellow.
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