Sturm Graz vs Slovan Bratislava prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-02-14 17:45.
Playing European football in the spring for the first time in more than two decades, Austrian outfit Sturm Graz are about to experience their third European tournament of the season. They finished third in Group D of the Europa League, with only goal difference narrowly gifting them a place in the UEFA Conference League (UECL) knockout round play-offs, though after technically progressing from a UEFA group stage for the first time in club history, they’ll be confident of winning this tie.
The hosts are unbeaten in competitive games this calendar year (W1, D1) and are currently locked in a tight battle with Salzburg at the top of Austrian Bundesliga, but a look at their recent European record makes for tough viewing. That’s because Sturm have lost their last three continental games without even scoring and are yet to win a home game in Europe this season (D1, L3), form that could put their further progression in doubt.
Sturm’s recent European woes should boost morale for visiting Slovan Bratislava then, who like their hosts have also featured in all three European competitions this season. They finished second behind Lille in the group stages of this competition with three wins to their name (D1, L2) and they’ll now look to reach at least the Round of 16 stage of this competition for a second season running.
Comfortably sitting top of the Slovakian Nike Liga after a 4-0 win in their first game of 2024 at the weekend, Slovan will look to make it a memorable first-ever H2H meeting. They’ll need to rewrite history books to grab victory in this one though, as the visitors have lost their last three away games against Austrian clubs, conceding ten goals in the process, whilst their away record in Europe this season also remains very hit and miss (W4, L3).
Players to watch: William Böving has netted the match opener with each of his last three European goals, two of which came within the first half-hour. Angling for some late action could be VladimĂr Weiss, son of Slovan’s coach bearing the same name, who has scored his last three European goals beyond the 50th minute.
Hot stat: Both teams have scored in ten of Slovan’s last 11 European matches.