Salzburg vs Dynamo Kyiv facts

Salzburg have one foot in the inaugural league phase of the UEFA Champions League as they welcome Dynamo Kyiv to Austria holding a 2-0 first-leg advantage for the conclusion of their play-off.

Goals from Dorgeles Nene (29) and Maurits Kjærgaard (50pen) gave the Austrian side victory at the Arena Lublin in Poland on 21 August, the latter from the spot after Moussa Kounfolo Yeo had been impeded by Oleksandr Karavaiev.

That was the teams' first meeting.

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 while Dynamo last made it to the Champions League group stage in 2021/22.

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

Form guide

Salzburg

Record vs Ukrainian clubs: W2 D0 L3 F5 A11
Home record vs Ukrainian clubs: W1 D0 L1

Salzburg had played only four games against Ukrainian sides before the first leg, 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 had therefore lost three successive games to Ukrainian opponents, conceding seven goals in those two away defeats, before their first-leg defeat of Dynamo.

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.

This season's win against Twente ended a run of three successive home European defeats for Salzburg, who had lost only one of the previous nine, winning six.

Their win at Dynamo was only Salzburg's second in their last 13 European away matches (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.

Salzburg have qualified from all 11 of the previous European ties in which they have posted an away win in the first leg, most recently against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the 2020/21 Champions League play-offs. This is the first time they have won the away first leg 2-0.

Salzburg's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L1:
5-4 v Eintracht Frankfurt, 1993/94 UEFA Cup quarter-final
2-3 v Dinamo Minsk, 2015/16 Europa League play-off

Dynamo Kyiv

Record vs Austrian clubs: W11 D2 L4 F32 A20
Away record vs Austrian clubs: W5 D1 L2

The first leg was 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, their first-leg defeat by Salzburg their first 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 before this tie.

The Kyiv club won their first four away games against Austrian clubs but were without a win in three (D1 L2) before victory at Sturm.

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).

This season's win at Partizan was Dynamo's first in seven away European matches (D1 L5).

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

Dynamo have won two of the 12 UEFA competition ties in which they lost the first leg at home, most recently against Trabzonspor in the 2004/05 Champions League third qualifying round (1-2 h, 2-0 a). They have lost all five when the initial home defeat has been by a two-goal margin, including four with the score at 0-2, the most recent against Benfica in the 2022/23 Champions League play-offs (0-3 a).

Dynamo's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L0:
3-1 v Sparta Praha, 1998/99 Champions League second qualifying round
6-5 v Aris, 2023/24 Europa Conference League third qualifying round

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.