Premier tonight for the Championship of Slovenia with Maribor, a team that finished first with a difference of 20 points from the second Olimpia Ljubljana last season, facing away from Gorica. The hosts had a very good second round last season, but due to financial problems, none of the 9 players were able to hold out and did not even get better. Those who have been asked to replace them are players of the youth teams and, as has been shown so far from the friendly ones, they are not doing well. 3 and 2 defeated XNUMX even with semi-professional teams, indicating that the goal for this year will be to remain in the category, which with the current data does not seem to be so feasible.
On the other hand, the guests are otherwise a ladder superior to any other group in the category. Quite robust, it is almost certain that he will be re-champion at the end of the year and has begun preparation earlier than the rest of the teams, as the team's goal this year is to do something more at the European level either by going to the Champions League The League has been (and is the most realistic goal) of the Euroleague League in order to increase its revenues as well as the investments made by buying the best of the players in the local championship and some kind of fluid.
Maribor showed a good person in the friendly by defeating Poland's Slaska champion with 1-0 and earlier won her only remarkable "Olympia Ljubljana" rival with 2-1 for the Super Cap. The current match is a rehearsal for them in view of the big fight that follows on Wednesday against Zheleznitsar Sarajevo so they will want to clean up early so they can keep their strengths for the much bigger match of the year just started for them. This does not mean that they will not fight with the best possible, but it is the beginning of the year and the coach said that the games help the players to better tie each other, to ideally implement the systems, while the top priority is a good start in the championship and then the mid-term match for Europe.
The big star of the team, the striker Velikonija, signed a contract with Cardiff a few days ago but will be incorporated into the Wales team on 24 of the month, so tonight he is given the chance to bid farewell to his team fans with one or more goals facing Gorica where he started his career).
The hosts do not have a particular fan base in their home games and it will not be surprising if the fans are more in the stadium.
My prediction is that Maribor will win quite comfortably with 2 or more of a goal difference and I will choose it with the European one-goal handicap.