Slovan Bratislava vs Basel prediction: EUROPE: Europa Conference League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2023-03-15 17:45.
After sharing the stage in Group H of this season’s UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL), Slovan Bratislava will host Basel for the fourth and final edition of their recent rivalry, with the tie firmly in the balance after a 2-2 draw in the first leg. So far, the Slovakians have come through the trio of matches unbeaten (W1, D2), with Slovan topping UECL Group H on H2H record at the expense of their visitors.
With this already being the furthest they’ve progressed in modern day UEFA competitions, surpassing the round of 16 will require VladimĂr Weiss’ troops to overcome a measly home record in European competition – winning just two of the last seven such matches (D4, L1). There may therefore be some nervous folk in TehelnĂ© pole come kick-off, especially considering the Sky Blues are coming off a 1-0 home loss against MĹ K Ĺ˝ilina last time out.
Basel have already shown they can turn it up in the second leg if needed, after overturning a 1-0 deficit against Trabzonspor in the knockout play-offs to win 2-1 on aggregate. The RotBlau will hope the experience of lining up for a record-extending 30th game in all stages of the UECL will pay dividends, as this is where last season’s campaign came to its conclusion with a 4-2 aggregate defeat to Marseille.
That was Basel’s fifth elimination in their last eight European Round of 16 appearances, showing they struggle when the going gets tough. The travelling fans will likely be biting their nails throughout the encounter too, as Basel have failed to win any of their last four European knockout stage ties when the second leg is played on the road, but as they’re currently 20 points off the title pace at home, progressing in this tournament will likely be the priority.
Players to watch: Slovan’s Aleksandar Čavrić scored home and away against Basel in the group stages, forming part of 13 of his 17 goals this season arriving before half-time, but the visitors will look to Andi Zeqiri to have the last laugh once again, since he’s scored two of their last three goals against Slovan.
Hot stat: Basel have been eliminated from eight of the ten UEFA two-legged ties when drawing the first leg at home.