Preview: Dynamo Kyiv vs Pafos - prediction, team news, lineups

Fighting for a place in the Champions League playoff round, Dynamo Kiev will welcome Pafos to Motor Lublin Arena on Tuesday for the first leg of their third round showdown.

The Blue and Whites are looking for a fourth straight win in midweek, while the visitors could extend their unbeaten run to six matches.

Match preview

Oleksandr Shovkovsky's Dynamo Kiev fell short of making the Champions League's league phase in 2024-25, and they will be keen to progress in order to avenge their elimination from last season's playoff round.

To reach this stage, the Blue and Whites beat Maltese club Hamrun Spartans home and away, triumphing 3-0 in both matches for a 6-0 aggregate win.

On Saturday, Shovkovsky's side continued their strong form by taking all three points in a 1-0 Ukrainian Premier League victory against Veres-Rivne, marking their third win on the bounce.

Ahead of the first leg, the hosts will draw confidence from the fact that they are undefeated at home in Europe and the top flight throughout 2025, though with just two wins from their last six games at Motor Lublin Arena, it remains to be seen whether they can establish a lead this week.

Should Dynamo Kiev eventually find their way through to the league phase, then it would represent their first appearance in the tournament proper since 2021-22.

Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Carcedo's Pafos are one of the more inexperienced clubs in this year's Champions League, and with just two European campaigns under their belt, they will be hoping to qualify for the league phase of UEFA's premier club competition for the first time.

Impressively, the Cypriot champions were able to reach the Conference League's league phase in 2024-25, even making it as far as the round of 16 where they were eliminated by Djurgardens IF.

On their way to the third round, Carcedo's men beat Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-1 on aggregate, keeping the score level at 1-1 in the home leg before winning 1-0 on the road.

Hoping to repeat their travelling success this week, fans of the visitors will be quietly confident after seeing their side lose just once away from home since April.

However, with only two victories in that stretch, Pafos would be pleased to go into the second leg without trailing, aiming to make the most of a home advantage next week.

Dynamo Kiev Champions League form:

Pafos Champions League form:

Team News

Dynamo Kiev will be looking to make the most of the home leg, and their frontline of Andriy Yarmolenko, Vladyslav Vanat and Vladyslav Kabaiev will be raring to go.

Captain Vitaliy Buyalskyy should be joined by Mykola Mykhailenko and Oleksandr Pikhalonok in the centre of the park, where they will be looking to provide stability.

As for Pafos, Carcedo will need centre-backs Derrick Luckassen and David Goldar to be at their best to avoid falling behind in the first leg.

Up top, a strike partnership of Vlad Dragomir and Anderson Silva will be supplied by Jaja and Mislav Orsic from out wide.

Dynamo Kyiv possible starting lineup:

Nescheret; Tymchyk, Popov, Mykhavko, Dubinchak; Pikhalonok, Mykhailenko, Buyalskyi; Yarmolenko, Vanat, Kabaiev

Pafos possible starting lineup:

Michael; Bruno, Luckassen, Goldar, Pileas; Jaja, Sunjic, Pepe, Orsic; Dragomir, Silva

We say: Dynamo Kyiv 1-1 Pafos

Dynamo Kyiv will be counting on their resilience on their own turf this week, but given that they have struggled for wins, they may have to settle for a level score.

Likewise, Pafos have rarely tasted defeat away from home in recent months, and they would be more pleased than the hosts with a draw on Tuesday.