Since Red Bull acquired Salzburg in 2005, the club has dominated Austrian football, winning 14 national titles.
This consistent success has allowed the team to increasingly shift its focus towards competing in the Champions League. However, last season, Red Bull Salzburg narrowly missed out on the title, finishing just two points behind Sturm Graz.
This season, Salzburg kicked off their Champions League journey in the third round, facing Dutch side Twente FC.
After securing a 2-1 win in the first leg, they held on for a thrilling 3-3 draw in the return leg in the Netherlands, ensuring their progression. Domestically, Salzburg currently sits atop the Austrian Bundesliga, having secured all 9 points from their first three matches.
Their recent victories include a crucial 1-0 win over title rivals LASK and a 2-0 triumph against Dynamo Kyiv on neutral ground in Poland.
Dynamo Kyiv, although facing an uphill battle after losing the first leg, has had a strong run in the Champions League qualifiers. They easily overcame Partizan in the second round with dominant performances (6-2, 3-0) and then managed to edge out Glasgow Rangers, benefiting from a red card to Jefté in the second leg.
However, in their first-leg encounter with Salzburg, Kyiv’s lack of intensity and defensive errors were costly, with RBS taking advantage through goals from Dorgeles in the 29th minute and a penalty in the 51st minute.
Red Bull Salzburg is known for developing top talent, with stars like Naby Keita, Dayot Upamecano, Marcel Sabitzer, Erling Haaland, and Dominik Szoboszlai having started their careers there. Despite this, the club often struggles to keep its best players. This season, for example, they lost Serbian international defender Pavlovic to AC Milan and Luka Susic to Real Sociedad.
To compensate, Salzburg brought in goalkeeper Blaswich from RB Leipzig. Although they are currently missing key striker Konaté, who scored 20 goals in the Austrian Bundesliga last season, as well as several other injured players, the team continues to perform well.
On the Dynamo Kyiv side, they will be without Shepeliev and likely defender Tymchyk, who is still recovering from injury. Center-back Diachyk is also doubtful due to a shoulder issue, and substitute striker Ponomarenko is expected to be absent.
Despite these setbacks, Ukrainian international Vanat leads the attack, though he struggled in the first leg and was substituted for Nazar Voloshyn, who contributed 7 goals and 6 assists last season.
Veteran captain A.Yarmolenko, at 34, remains an important figure in the team. Kyiv’s offense has been productive, scoring 12 goals in 5 games this season, averaging 3 goals per match.
Prediction
Dynamo Kyiv’s last five away matches in the Champions League have seen 22 goals, with both teams scoring in each game, indicating a tendency for high-scoring encounters.
Similarly, both teams have scored in 13 consecutive Salzburg fixtures at this level. Given these patterns, another high-scoring match seems likely.
Prediction: Salzburg 3 : 1 Dynamo Kyiv
