FC Copenhagen – Kairat Almaty

The Champions League is back after the international break, and we start on Wednesday in the Danish capital – Copenhagen, where Parken will host the match between FC Copenhagen and Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty.

FC Copenhagen

The Danish champions are coming off a derby win against arch-rivals Brøndby. A rather boring match in which neither team had much to offer, and where Copenhagen, who were perhaps the weakest team, took all three points after a somewhat thin penalty kick.

But three points are three points, and right now it means more than a solid draw. FCK really needs to get back on track, and now they face a team they have to beat. This could give them momentum and maybe kickstart the season in earnest.

Here I expect FCK to run the show, roll the ball a lot and... create frustratingly little against a compact and disciplined team from Kazakhstan.

Kairat Almaty

The Kazakhstani team qualified for their first group stage match in top company, a historic achievement. But they have struggled to create chances. Only 2 goals in 4 games so far, and away at Parken it will hardly be any easier.

Here, the Kazakhs will probably have eleven men behind the ball, keep the team extremely tight and hope to be able to counter FCK when they are off-balance. They probably have no more offensive firepower than that.

Conclusion

I think this will be a pretty sleepy affair. High yawn factor, and there is a risk that the half-time commercials will be the highlight of the match. We have a Danish team that lacks creativity in attack, and a Kazakh team that will be compact and take few chances. Therefore, I foresee very few goals.

Champions League at 18:45: FC Copenhagen - Kairat Almaty: Under 3.5 Goals (1.62)

Option

Champions League at 18:45: FC Copenhagen - Kairat Almaty: FC Copenhagen Over 5.5 Corners (1.80)