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The first battles for UEFA gold!
The first Champions League playoff battles will be played on Wednesday night with four games that are considered to be tightly contested. Six of the eight teams were involved in the previous rounds, while the pair of Young Boys and Galatasaray start directly from the play-offs.
Dynamo Kyiv will host Salzburg in Poland, with both teams expected to go all out to return to the main stage of the Champions League. The hosts eliminated Rangers in the previous round, while the Austrians eliminated Twente in the previous round. The set is almost evenly split, which also shows the balance of the teams' dynamics.
In Sweden, after a dramatic overtime win over PAOK, Malmö will host Sparta Prague, who eliminated Elias Charalambus' Steauawa. The hosts are marginal favourites, but this pair are also in the balance for qualification.
Midland are the favourites against Slovan Bratislava, the Danes eliminated Ferencvaros and the Slovaks eliminated APOEL.
In Switzerland, Young Boys will face Galatasaray, with the Turks, despite not starting well, being favourites for the double and also for qualification.