Lille vs Sturm Graz prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-12-10 17:45.
[p]Lille and Sturm Graz have come a long way since they met in the Round of 16 of last season’s third-tier UEFA Conference League, but only the French outfit have been able to hold their own in the top flight of European club football. Lille secured a 4-1 aggregate victory back then, and with three wins in their first five UEFA Champions League (UCL) games of this season (D1, L1), they’re expected to beat the Austrian side again. [/p]
[p]Only goal difference kept Lille out of the eight automatic Round of 16 qualification slots at the start of this matchday and with two of their three remaining league phase games to take place at home, they’re currently in a good position to progress to the knockout stages. After taking points when hosting continental giants Juventus (D 1-1) and Real Madrid (W 1-0), recent history would suggest Lille should have no trouble with this task.[/p]
[p]The formlines haven’t married up well for Sturm Graz, who lost away to Brest (2-1) on the opening matchday of this league phase for the first of their four defeats from five rounds so far (W1, L4). That extended a miserable history in France for Sturm Graz who have lost four of their five European trips (all tournaments) to France (D1). [/p]
[p]They can take some confidence into this match after ending a six-game losing streak in UCL football against Girona in the last round (1-0), but it’s going to require another step up in their performance to record back-to-back UCL wins for the first time since 2001. The Austrian club have lost a staggering 79% of their 14 UCL away fixtures (W1, D2, L11), which is the second-highest loss rate of any club to have completed as many away trips prior to the round. [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Following his brace against Bologna, 20-year-old Ngal’ayel Mukau will be hoping to eclipse Timothy Weah as the youngest Lille representative to score in back-to-back major European appearances. Fellow youngster Seedy Jatta found the net in two of his last three league games either side of assisting the winning goal against Girona. [/p]
[p]Hot streak: Lille have failed to score more than one goal in each of their last 14 UCL proper home games. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]