Slovan Bratislava vs Sturm Graz prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-02-21 20:00.
Despite the fact that two of their three prior home games in European competition against Austrian sides ended in victory (L1), Slovan Bratislava’s chances of qualifying for the Round of 16 stage of this season’s UEFA Europa Conference League seem slim at best after they suffered a heavy 4-1 first leg defeat away to Sturm Graz. However, victory of their own via the same scoreline in domestic league action at the weekend may have lifted their spirits as they pursue a second consecutive appearance in the last 16 of this competition.
Slovan manager VladimĂr Weiss could point towards his side’s record of just one loss across their prior 13 competitive home outings to raise morale (W10, D2), especially as they netted 3+ goals in four of those wins. They’ll need to manage that if not more here, whilst ideally keeping a clean sheet to progress. But after failing to keep out their opponents in each of their last four competitive outings at TehelnĂ© pole, the odds remain firmly stacked against them.
Things couldn’t have gone much better for the Austrians in the first leg when they netted four goals in a major European outing for just the second time in their history. That performance leaves them in a commanding position, and unless their Slovak opponents can seriously upset the apple cart, the visitors should find themselves in a great position to enjoy themselves during what will be their 100th match in major European competition.
That said, taking just one win across their last six competitive away fixtures (D2, L3) leaves them potentially vulnerable here. Their continental record of losing five of their last six away European matches (W1), three of which saw them concede 3+ goals in the process, does them no favours either.
Players to watch: Slovan’s David Strelec has netted 11 goals across all competitions this season, four of which served as match openers for his side. As for Sturm Graz, they could look to Tomi Horvat for inspiration as his side haven’t lost in any of his six goalscoring appearances this term (W5, D1).
Hot streak: Slovan’s last eight competitive matches saw 3+ total goals scored.