RFS vs Malmö: UEFA Champions League Prediction (23.07.2025)

On July 23, 2025, at 00:00 WIB, the first leg of the UEFA Champions League qualification quarterfinals will take place in the Latvian capital between RFS and Malmö. Bookmakers consider the visitors to be the favorites. Let’s take a look at the current form of both teams and provide our prediction.

RFS

The team from Riga enters the Champions League qualifiers in good form, but not in the most favorable timing. RFS currently sits in second place in the Latvian league, meaning they cannot afford to neglect their domestic campaign and are forced to fight on two fronts. Whether they can sustain this pace remains to be seen. For instance, they played their previous league match on Saturday, July 19, and now must face Malmö just three days later on Tuesday.

RFS began their Champions League qualifying journey in the first round, facing Estonian side Levadia. Two narrow 1–0 victories were enough to secure their place in the quarterfinals, but Malmö poses a much tougher challenge.

Malmö

The Swedish club is not in the best situation either. They also have only three days between matches for preparation. In fact, this Champions League qualifier comes right after an away league match. Moreover, Henrik Rydström’s side is struggling in the Swedish league, currently fighting for only fifth place. If results don’t improve, they risk missing out on European competition next year.

That said, Malmö has already advanced through one qualification round, having defeated Iberia from Georgia twice with a scoreline of 3–1.

Stats and Head-to-Head Record

These two teams have faced each other only once, and the match took place relatively recently — on December 5, 2024. It was a friendly held on neutral ground in Málaga, Spain. Malmö won that game narrowly, 1–0.

Prediction

For the RFS vs Malmö match, our prediction favors the visitors. The Latvian side struggled to get past the relatively modest Levadia in the first round. Malmö, on the other hand, is a more skilled and experienced team. Therefore, we suggest betting on a Malmö win at odds of 1.84.