Preview: Breidablik vs. Copenhagen
Icelandic champions Breidablik will be aiming to cause a major upset against their Nordic opponents Copenhagen in the second round of Champions League qualifying on Tuesday.
The visitors, meanwhile, progressed to the group stage of this competition for the first time in six seasons last time around.
Having won their second ever Besta deild karla (Iceland’s top-flight division) title last season, Breidablik are competing in the Champions League for only the second time in their history.
Managed by three-time Iceland international Oskar Hrafn Porvaldsson since 2020, the 49-year-old built on finishing second in 2021 by leading his side to a comfortable 10-point margin last time out, helping them qualify for Europe’s elite competition in the process.
Blikar caused a major storm by defeating another Nordic opponent in the form of Rosenborg 2-0 at this same qualifying stage in the 2011-12 campaign, before crashing out with a 5-0 defeat in Trondheim.
Breidablik have enjoyed quite the journey already in this season’s competition, winning all four matches that they have played against champions from San Marino, Montenegro and Republic of Ireland, and they will hope that lightning strikes twice when they face Copenhagen at Kopavogsvollur on Tuesday.
Copenhagen, meanwhile, enjoyed an extremely successful season last time out, as they won the domestic double to move level on the record number of triumphs in both competitions’ history.
Jacob Neestrup’s side gave a decent enough account of themselves in the Champions League group stage, too, remaining unbeaten at home against Manchester City, Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund, but losing all three away games without scoring a goal saw them crash out in bottom position.
Copenhagen have only once made it out of the group stage of this competition, when losing 2-0 on aggregate to Chelsea in the last-16 during the 2010-11 campaign, but even making it to that stage represents an excellent achievement for a club of their status.
However, after kicking-off their domestic season with a 2-1 win away to Lyngby on Saturday, Neestrup and his players will firmly expect to comfortably progress across two legs against their Icelandic opponents.
Breidablik Champions League form:
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Breidablik form (all competitions):
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Copenhagen Champions League form:
Copenhagen form (all competitions):
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We say: Breidablik 0-1 Copenhagen
Breidablik will be reminiscing about their victory against Rosenborg at this stage 12 years ago, but we expect Copenhagen to keep them at arm’s length for the majority of the contest.
However, the Danes have not been great travellers in this competition down the years, and they may have to wait until the reverse leg to completely wrap up this tie.