Rabotnicki continues their European adventure with the match against vice-champions OB Odense from Denmark in the third qualification round from the UEFA Europa League. The first match will be played in Skopje.
The only Macedonian team left in Europe will not have an easy job to do against the solid team from Denmark. Coach Stratev is very aware of the quality of OB Odense, but nevertheless, on today’s press-conference he has announced that his team will play offensively and at the same time try not to concede a goal, though that will be rather hard as Odense plays offensive as well and goals are always here when the Danish team competes. Taken in average, in the last season Odense scored almost 2 goals on every match and conceded just a bit less then 1, finishing on the second position, 5 points behind champions FC København.
Stratev should not have problems with the squad and goalkeeper Naumovski will be back on goal after the red card he got on the first leg against Crusaders FC. Odense has a solid squad with several well-known football names like Eric Djemba-Djemba, the Cameroonian midfielder who used to play for Manchester United, Thomas Helveg , the Danish veteran, Peter Utaka, the Nigerian striker who ended 4th on the goalscorers list last season, their coach Lars Olsen who captained Denmark to victory in the European Championship 1992.
Odense are surely favorites for this two-legged match, but should not be overestimated. Rabotnicki has a winning mentality and with the role of underdogs can produce a surprising result. Brondby, the third-placed team from Denmark which finished only a point behind Odense last season, started competing in the second qualifying round and in the first leg lost at home to Estonian Flora Tallinn 0-1 only to win in the second with 1-4. Danish championship has already started and Odense played two games so far, drawing with Brondby 2-2 and winning against SønderjyskE with 3-1, but as reports suggest, Odense were not too impressive. Djemba-Djemba played good football and also the new signing from Iceland Gislason showed a good performance.
Bookies will double your investment if you place a bet on the visitors and they win, while Rabotnicki have odds of around 3.00. The match is scheduled for tomorrow, 30th of July at 17.00 CET on the national arena Philip II of Macedon. Vladislav Bezborodov from Russia will be the main referee and he will be helped by Viacheslav Semenov and Dmitriy Mosyakin, both from Russia. This match will have a live coverage on national television A1.