Red Star – FC Köln, a duel for 2nd place

Date: 27-11-2017

Serbia’s most successful football club will compete with FC Köln in Belgrade on Dec. 7, for the second place in group H of Europa League, which takes the winner to the next stage of competition. This match Red Star – FC Köln is drawing a lot of attention, as it is a great opportunity for Red Star to score it’s biggest success in European competitions since UEFA Cup was transformed into Europa League.

The match between BATE Borisov and Red Star Belgrade, played on Nov. 23 in Belorussia, has ended without goals, so the decision about the second place in the group was postponed to December, for the match Red Star – FC Köln. Red Star was a superior side against BATE, but couldn’t score and assure the presence in the next phase of he competition. The other Belgrade team, Partizan, has already qualified in his group, also as a runner-up.

Arsenal can relax and play the match against BATE in London on Dec. 7 without pressure, as it will reaming the first team in the group, regardless of the outcome. BATE is hoping for the win against Arsenal and a tie in Belgrade, while Red Star and Köln need just to win a direct confrontation to finish in the second place.

Red Star in better position than BATE and Köln

In case of an expected Arsenal win in London, a tie in Serbia would leave Red Star in a second place, as the club won over Köln in the first match in Germany. It would be easy to assume that Red Star should only defend and preserve a tie, but the win of Köln over Arsenal in the last round serves as a warning that the German club is very dangerous and now it is also self-confident. We saw that Arsenal can be defeated, so Red Star must not rest assured that one point in Belgrade would be enough.

After the victory of Köln and the indecisive match in Borisov, the group H is one of those more interesting to watch in the Europa League, as only groups H, F and I are still open for several different outcomes. In all other groups it is already known which teams will progress and which will drop out, or, at the most, there is a struggle for the second place between just two teams.

All the tickets already released for the match Red Star – FC Köln were promptly sold, but the club has promised one bonus contingent that will be released just before the match. Tickets are also easy to buy on the web, from private individuals, for as little as 20 Euros. Sky Apartments can offer first rate accommodation for all Red Star and FC Köln supporters who are planning to come to Belgrade and watch this important match. The prices start from 55 Euros per day, and several guests can share one apartment, so the price per person is really low, even lower than the price of the ticket for the match.