Fantastic result for Celje as they won 2:1 in Norway against Tromso, scoring two late goals. Hopefully they can finish the job at home next week.

Domzale lost 1:0 at home to Astra so I don't expect much from them in Romania

 

Domžale is out in my opinion, while Celje has a realistic chance of advancing. But I wouldn't be surprised if they manage to screw it up at home either...

 

Not a good start by Celje, already losing 2:0 to Tromso and only 15 minutes played so Celje practically lost their away goals advantage already

 

Seems like Maribor and Olimpija the two real contenders for SLovenija left...

 

Just Maribor. Olimpija is pure shit, probably even worse than Domžale and Celje...

 

Both Celje and Domzale lose today 2:0 and have been eliminated from European competition. Olimpija Ljubljana enter the next round (July 18/25) against Slovakian side Zilina. Not impossible to progress from but Zilina are the favorites.

Maribor start their CL campaign next week as well against Maltese side Birkirkara.

 

Maribor held to a scoreless draw at Birkirkara, long live Cacic :lala:

 

Olimpija beat Zilina 3:1 at home but that away goal will make things tricky in the return leg. Ivelja got the key goal for Olimpija to make it 3:1 in the 90th minute! Both sides had a man sent off before halftime.

If Olimpija do manage to progress to the next round, they will take Zilina's seeding position.

 

If Maribor progress they will face APOEL Nicosia in the 3rd round of Champions League qualifiers.

Olimpija Ljubljana who are in a decent position to get past Zilina could potentially face Kek's Rijeka

 

Maribor won tonight 2-0 at home.

In the 3rd round APOEL Nicosia are favorites, but If they manage to survive in Nicosia, anything could happen.

 

Not sure what to think of APOEL, we all remember their run 2 years ago but last season they bombed in Europe and have a new manager. Surely APOEL is the favorites but Maribor has their chances

Zilina-Olimpija is kicking off, winner will play Rijeka. Olimpija have a 3:1 advantage

 

well Olimpija is the 2nd Slovenian team this season to throw away a decent 1st leg advantage. They lose 2:0 to Zilina who advance 3:3 on away goals.

 

Maribor get a reasonable 1:1 draw in Cyprus against APOEL. They were extremely poor in the first half but improved very much in the second half and deserved to get at least an away goal out of this contest. Maribor should be happy to take this result back to Slovenia but as we have seen with Olimpija and Celje, in the 2nd leg nothing can be taken for granted even with a positive result.

Also important to note that Maribor have started their season while APOEL are still in pre-season, so that's an advantage Maribor could capitalize on

 

For the second season in a row Maribor advance to the playoffs of the Champions League. They held APOEL to a scoreless draw meaning they advance 1:1 on away goals. APOEL had more possession but never really looked like scoring (they had one good chance in the first half but that's about it)

Maribor's potential opponents are: Basel, Celtic, Steaua, Viktoria Plzen, Dinamo Zagreb

Maribor are guaranteed at least a Europa League group stage position again

 

What's their best draw, do you think? Dinamo Zagreb?

 

you guys heard kind of usain bolt needs 9 minutes to run out entire slovenian border

 

Dinamo Zagreb handled them pretty easily last season despite Maribor getting an away goal in Zagreb too. Also, Cacic might bend over for Dinamo as he is their ex-coach. Though it must be said Dinamo will have to progress against Sheriff (which I think they will do)

I would say Viktoria Plzen would be the best draw but in reality all 5 teams will be favorites over Maribor

 

What's their best draw, do you think? Dinamo Zagreb?

stop insulting my club

 

For the 3rd time in a row in group stage of EL (or maybe this time even in CL). Huge achievement for a team like Maribor. And it`s always sweet to progress when odds are against you. And especially when your opponents are such bunch of divers(they received 4 yellow cards for diving in both games, all justified), crybabies and sore losers like Apoel.

 

Viktoria Plzen it is, first game is away.

 

Good luck to Maribor, having seen Plzen against Zeljo, I definitely give Maribor a good chance of advancing. :thumbsup:

 

Best possible draw for Maribor but Plzen will still be the favorites. A complete 180 from APOEL who are mostly a counter team, Plzen are very attack minded, they score a lot of goals but they also concede a lot too

 

everyone would be favourite against Maribor at this stage, but i am satisfied with the draw. it seems doable. especially now when it looks like we finally have a competent coach.

 

I won't be disappointed even if Maribor doesn't make it to the CL, because eliminating APOEL is more than I could hope for to begin with. But since the chance is here, why not?

 

We'll get there, even if not this season. Zahovič and co. have been making steady progress for the last few years, so would be great to qualify. It won't be easy, but who knows what can happen? :shades:

 

Plzen are all over Maribor and score only 8 minutes in, Maribor haven't opened the match strong, conceding way too much space

 

Maribor settled down since just an awful opening 10 minutes when they couldn't get out of their half, they have created some half chances and seeing more of the ball. To get out the half only 1:0 is a good result but they will probably need an away goal to have any hope in MB