The second leg of the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 second qualifying round between Zrinjski (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) will take place on July 29 at the Zrinjski Stadium in Mostar. The first match ended 4-0 in favor of Slovan Bratislava. Zrinjski vs. Slovan Bratislava: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Zrinjski
The club from Bosnia and Herzegovina suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat away to Slovan Bratislava in the first leg. Now, to progress to the next round, the team needs a miracle – they must win by at least four goals to at least force extra time. However, Zrinjski's home record in the Champions League does not inspire optimism: throughout their participation in the tournament, the club has won only one home match, and that was by a narrow margin.
- A maximum of three goals have been scored in Zrinjski's last eight home Champions League matches.
- The club has not conceded more than one goal in 6 of their last 8 home games in the Champions League.
- Zrinjski has scored at least once in 7 of their last 9 European home matches.
Predicted lineup for Zrinjski (4-5-1)
Goran Karačić – Duje Dujmović, Ilija Mašić, Kerim Memija, Mateo Sušić – Antonio Ivančić, Igor Savić, Karlo Abramović, Stefano Šurdanović, Jakov Pranjić – Nemanja Bilbija.
Slovan Bratislava
The Slovak club ended an eight-match losing streak in the Champions League by thrashing Zrinjski 4-0 in the first leg. Now, to advance to the next round, the team only needs to avoid losing by more than three goals. It's worth noting that such a scenario is extremely rare for the club – in their last 20 away Champions League matches, they have lost by four or more goals only once, when they were defeated 1-5 by Celtic in the group stage last season.
- The club has lost 4 of their last 5 away matches in the Champions League.
- The team has not scored more than one goal in their last seven away games in this tournament.
- The Slovaks have conceded more than one goal in 4 of their last 5 away matches in the Champions League.
Predicted lineup for Slovan Bratislava (3-5-2)
Dominik Takáč – Guram Kashia, Kenan Bajrić, Cesar Blackman – Vladimír Weiss, Peter Pokorný, Rash Rahim Ibrahim, Marko Tolić, Tigran Barseghyan – David Strelec, Sharani Zuberu.
Referee
Arda Kardesler (Turkey)
Matches – 14 (International matches and Turkish Championship, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 53;
Average yellow cards per match – 3.8;
Red cards shown – 0;
Average fouls per match – 24;
Penalties – 36%.
Match Prediction: Zrinjski vs. Slovan Bratislava
Zrinjski has shown a tendency for scoring in home Champions League matches: in 5 of their last 7 home games, both teams have found the net. Moreover, the Bosnians have scored in 7 of their last 9 European matches and conceded in 8 of 9 in the same competitions. After the heavy defeat in the first leg (0-4), the team has nothing to lose, so we can expect active attacking play and open spaces in defense from the hosts.
Slovan Bratislava, on the other hand, also regularly participates in high-scoring matches: in 4 of their last 5 away Champions League games, both teams have scored, and overall, both teams have found the net in 5 of the club's last 6 matches in this tournament. Furthermore, the Slovaks even managed to score away against such giants as Bayern Munich and AC Milan in the previous Champions League edition, indicating a strong attacking potential. Also, given the comfortable lead from the first game, Slovan is unlikely to be overly nervous and should capitalize on a counterattack.
My prediction: Both teams to score – yes
