Aris Limassol v BATE Borisov

Aris Limassol v BATE Preview

Cypriot outfit, Aris Limassol, will have first bite of the cherry with regards home advantage when they play host to BATE at their Alphamega Stadium in this 1st leg of their 2nd Qualifying Round in the Champions League and the hosts will head into this important tie fresh from their domestic Super Cup win over Omonia Nicosia.

Aris Limassol ran out 2-0 winners against Omonia Nicosia which would have been a satisfying result for Aris as they had previously stumbled to defeats against Sturm Graz and Dinamo Kiev in recent pre-season friendlies as well as losing 4-3 away from home at APOEL on the final day of last season's domestic 1 Division campaign.

The bigger picture does represent a pretty encouraging outlook though for Aris Limassol who have lost just three of their previous 12 matches in all competitions while Aris have also collected six wins during this period, four of which were achieved on home soil at their Alphamega Stadium.

Aris Limassol will be making their debut in the Champions League on Wednesday night but having lost just twice in their last 17 home games overall, the hosts look in good shape to achieve a positive result in this encounter, although their new domestic season has not yet started.

BATE Borisov made it through the 1st Qualifying Round of this season's Champions League by virtue of a 3-1 win on aggregate against Albanian side, Partizani Tirana and having won four out of their last five matches overall in all competitions, BATE also look to have a decent chance of gaining a result here on Wednesday evening.

BATE may also hold a slight edge in terms of match fitness too over Aris Limassol as the Belarus top flight season is in full swing with BATE sitting in fourth place but five points adrift of a top three spot.

Results away from home have also been impressive for BATE as they have suffered just the one defeat from their last 20 outings on the road in all competitions whilst also picking up 11 wins along the way, so they too should be taken seriously here.

Aris Limassol v BATE Verdict

Aris Limassol will be keen to make home advantage count in this 1st leg at their Alphamega Stadium on Wednesday night but they'll be up against BATE who possess a fair amount of experience at Champions League level and the visitors will certainly be no pushovers for their Cypriot hosts.

Goals could feature in this 1st leg.

Therefore, our main bet will be Over 2.5 goals @ 2.20

Other side bets worth considering:

Aris Limassol win & Over 2.5 goals @ 2.87

Correct score: Aris Limassol 2-1 @ 9.00