Dynamo Kyiv vs Salzburg facts

Dynamo Kyiv and Salzburg meet at the Arena Lublin in Poland in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off tie with both sides looking to continue their recent record of participating in the competition proper.

Dynamo last made it to the Champions League group stage in 2021/22 while Salzburg, who endured a 25-year absence between 1994 and 2019, are aiming to feature in the new-look league phase after five successive group appearances.

Both sides have reached this stage in impressive fashion, Dynamo knocking out Partizan and Rangers while Salzburg held off Twente in the previous round.

This is the teams' first meeting. The second leg will be played in Austria on 27 August.

Form guide

Dynamo Kyiv

Record vs Austrian clubs: W11 D2 L3 F32 A18
Home records vs Austrian clubs: W6 D1 L1

This is Dynamo's first game against Austrian opponents since the 2022/23 Champions League third qualifying round, when they beat Sturm Graz 1-0 in the home leg – a match played in the Polish city of Lodz – and 2-1 away.

That made it three successive wins against Austrian clubs, and four games unbeaten, since a 2-4 loss against Rapid Wien in Kyiv in the 1996/97 Champions League qualifying round second leg – Dynamo's sole defeat at home to visitors from Austria.

The last of Dynamo's 18 Champions League group appearances came in 2021/22, when they were fourth in their section behind Bayern München, Benfica and Barcelona after picking up just one point from their six matches.

This is their first Champions League campaign since 2022/23, when they came through two qualifying rounds before losing to Benfica in the play-offs (0-2 h, 0-3 a).

That made the Kyiv club's record at this stage of the competition W2 L3.

Dynamo's 2023/24 European campaign lasted only four matches. After edging past Greek side Aris 6-5 on penalties in the UEFA Europa Conference League third qualifying round (0-1 a, 2-1 h aet), they were beaten home (2-3) and away (0-1) by Beşiktaş in the qualifying play-offs.

Oleksandr Shovkovskyi's side have come through two qualifying ties this season to reach the Champions League play-offs, beating Partizan 9-2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round (6-2 h, 3-0 a) and Rangers 3-1 over two legs in the third (1-1 h, 2-0 a).

The wins against Aris last season and Partizan this are Dynamo's only victories in their last eight home European games (D1 L5).

Dynamo were runners-up in the Ukrainian Premier League in 2023/24, finishing two points behind their great rivals Shakhtar Donetsk.

Salzburg

Record vs Ukrainian clubs: W1 D0 L3 F3 A11
Away record vs Ukrainian clubs: W0 D0 L2

Salzburg have played only four games against Ukrainian sides, facing Shakhtar Donetsk in the 2007/08 Champions League third qualifying round (1-0 h, 1-3 a) and Metalist Kharkiv in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League round of 32 (0-4 h, 1-4 a).

The Austrian club have therefore lost their last three games to Ukrainian opponents, conceding seven goals in those two away defeats.

Having not featured in the Champions League group stage between 1994 and 2019, Salzburg are looking to make their sixth successive appearance in the competition proper.

The Austrian side were fourth in Group D in 2023/24, picking up four points from six games (W1 D1 L4) in a section that also included Real Sociedad, Inter Milan and Benfica.

Salzburg started this season's Champions League campaign in the third qualifying round, beating Dutch side Twente 2-1 at home before a 3-3 away draw to progress 5-4 on aggregate.

This is the first season Salzburg have been involved in Champions League qualifying since 2021/22, when they beat Brøndby in the play-offs (2-1 h, 2-1 a). That made their record at this stage W2 L5.

Having qualified automatically for the 2019/20 group stage, a 5-2 aggregate win against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the 2020/21 play-offs (2-1 a, 3-1 h) ended a run of 13 successive eliminations in Champions League qualifying since Salzburg's first group stage appearance in 1994/95.

A 2-0 win at Benfica on Matchday 1 of last season's Champions League is Salzburg's only victory in their last 12 European away games (D5 L6).

Salzburg, who appointed Pep Lijnders as head coach in May, had their run of ten successive Austrian Bundesliga titles ended by Sturm Graz in 2023/24, finishing two points behind.

Links and trivia

Salzburg forward Fernando scored nine goals in 51 Ukrainian Premier League appearances for Shakhtar Donetsk between 2018 and 2022, winning two league titles and the 2018/19 Ukrainian Cup. He was a late substitute in a 3-1 defeat by Dynamo in the Ukrainian Super Cup on 25 August 2020.