- FC Dila Gori have won 3, drawn 1 and lost 1 in their last 5 home matches in all competitions.
- Apollon Limmassol FC have won 2, drawn 1 and lost 2 in their last 5 away matches in all competitions.
Tight tie on a knife-edge
After a wobbling start to the Erovnuli Liga season, FC Dila Gori have picked up and they return to home soil after a 3-0 victory over FC Rustavi that was backed up by a 3-1 success at home to AC Virtus Acquaviva in UEFA Conference League Qualification 2026.
The visitors are in slightly better form, winning 3 of their last 5 matches and coming into this on the back of a two-game winning streak. They beat FC Utrecht 1-0 away in a Friendly Club Match 2026 and followed up with a 3-0 away win over Go Ahead Eagles in Friendly Club Matches 2026.
Dila will try to frustrate the Cypriots
Apollon Limmassol FC are the slight favourites at 2.38 for Thursday's clash, with Dila at 3.19 and the draw at 3.2. Those prices look about right given that this is a tight tie, so the value must lie in the goals markets.
Under 2.5 match goals at 1.55 is tempting, as is both teams to score - no at 1.75, but we're going with the former in the belief that Dila can keep this as close as possible. Akis Vavalis has made FC Dila Gori a much more difficult team to play against by installing some structure to their play, using the ball well in possession but pressing selectively and changing between 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 shapes to good effect.
Hernan Losada has Apollon playing some brave football, pressing high and playing with a verticality that's caused plenty of problems for their opponents. The Cypriot side are the sharper of the two and have enough to edge this, but Dila have a strong home run going and can keep it tight.
Apollon to edge it
Blankson Anoff has been Dila's main spark in this competition so far, but he's only managed 1 goal in 2 UEFA Conference League Qualification 2026 appearances. Apollon are the steadier side, winning 5, drawing 1 and losing 4 of their last 10 games, but Dila have been solid at home, conceding just 5 goals in 5 home games for a 1.00 goals-against average, while Apollon have shipped 6 goals in 5 away fixtures.
European progression is the prize and this tie is finely poised enough to prevent Apollon running away with it, but Losada's side are on a better run than Dila, who lost 1-0 away to AC Virtus Acquaviva earlier today. Apollon's verticality and superior form should see them edge a close match.
