These teams will make the Champions League play-off - or not

No acitivity on here does not mean that teams would not be flying around for their Champions League qualifiers at the moment. It rather means that your author is short on time to compile the information. After all, the occasional look onto the flight radar reveals all sorts of activity, particularly if like me, you live in the heart of Europe, where all the airways cross. So here we go with the return legs of the Third Round of this season's Champions League:

13 August 2019

LASK Linz vs. FC Basel 1893

Basel spent 90 minutes chasing the game against the Austrian vice-champions from Linz last week, with the end result being a 1-2 home loss. Two away goals are required now to still make it to the play-off, though the Europa League will wait as a parachute option for the losing team. Helvetic Airways appears to be the carrier of choice at the moment, with Basel having travelled to Eindhoven already with the same carrier a few weeks ago:

2L1336 ZRH 0830-0900 BSL E190 HB-JVT (12/08/19, ferry flt)

2L8336 BSL 1015-1115 LNZ E190 HB-JVT (12/08/19)

2L1337 LNZ 1200-1300 ZRH E190 HB-JVT (12/08/19, ferry flt)

2L1338 ZRH 1155-1300 LNZ E190 HB-JVT (14/08/19, ferry flt)

2L8339 LNZ 1400-1520 BSL E190 HB-JVT (14/08/19)

2L1339 BSL 1620-1700 ZRH E190 HB-JVT (14/08/19, ferry flt)

Dynamo Kyiv vs. FC Brugge

In another clash on the League Route, FC Brugge is taking a slender lead from a 1-0 home victory over Dynamo Kyiv over the Ukraine. The club opted for Brussels Airlines for this journey and ended up on board the Airbus A319 in Star Alliance colours:

SN9933 BRU 0800-0845 OST A319 OO-SSC (12/08/19, ferry flt)

SN1037 OST 1000-1330 KBP A319 OO-SSC (12/08/19)

SN9934 KBP 1445-1650 BRU A319 OO-SSC (12/08/19, ferry flt)

FC Porto vs. FK Krasnodar

The Russian outfit are the clear outsiders in the duel against the great FC Porto. Porto has won the first leg away from home 1-0 and will look to book a spot in the play-off tonight. Krasnodar on the other hand has booked flights with Rossiya, which seems to use Airbus A319 VQ-BCP for pretty much every sports task on hand:

FV4307 LED 0800-1030 KRR A319 VQ-BCP (12/08/19, ferry flt)

FV4308 KRR 1315-1700 OPO A319 VQ-BCP (12/08/19)

FC Kopenhagen vs. Red Star Belgrade

The winners of this clash will face the Swiss champions BSC Young Boys in the playoff round next week. The first match was played at Belgrade's fearsome Marakana ground and ended 1-1, leaving the champions of Denmark in a slightly better position.

KRP4041 ARW 0900-0845 BEG F100 YR-FKB (12/08/19, ferry flt)

KRP3041 BEG 1000-1215 CPH F100 YR-FKB (12/08/19)

JU9060 BEG 1315-1530 CPH B733 YU-AND (12/08/19)

JU9061 CPH 1630-xxxx KUN B733 YU-AND (12/08/19, ferry flt)