Slavia Prague (Cze) vs Lille (Fra) prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Qualification betting tips on match 2024-08-27 19:00.
[p]Not since 2019/20 have Slavia Prague competed in the UEFA Champions League group stage, and they look to be on the cusp of missing out on the new-look league phase again after falling to a 2-0 defeat in the first leg of this play-off tie against Lille. They do still have the safety net of dropping into the Europa League should they not turn the tie around, which would be a repeat of 2020/21’s route into proper continental action after Slavia lost out to Midtjylland at this stage. [/p]
[p]Slavia won’t count themselves out just yet, although their tepid 29% win rate against French opponents suggests this will be no simple task (W4, D3, L7). Despite a nightmare first game in France, Slavia do enter this clash unbeaten domestically so far this season (W4, D1), whilst only two sides have defeated them across their last 13 continental home games (W10, D1, L2), winning six of the last seven in that run. [/p]
[p]Looking to put a dent in that record are Lille, who have won three straight games by 2-0 scorelines to put them on the brink of qualification, whilst also helping set the early pace in Ligue 1. Lille are actually yet to lose under the tutelage of Bruno Génésio (W4, D1) and with a perfect record against Czech opponents heading into this (W5), recent history would suggest Lille are almost certain to be in the league phase draw on Thursday.[/p]
[p]Further fuelling the fire of French belief is the fact that Lille have remained unbeaten in six of their last seven European away games (W2, D4). The outlook isn’t so great however if only accounting for their road trips in the Champions League, of which they’ve lost six of the last nine with four of those defeats coming by 2+ goal margins.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: VAR’s intervention denied MojmĂr Chytil his first goal of the season in the first leg, but it’s worth noting that the Slavia man hit 21 competitive strikes last season, with eight of the last nine arriving at home. As for Lille, Edon Zhegrova remains fresh for Europe after serving a domestic suspension at the start of the season – he’s scored Lille’s second goal in two of their three continental clashes this term. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Slavia have lost the first away leg of a European tie by a two-goal margin seven times before going on to overturn it at home three times. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Matthew Billon[/i][/p]