Slavia Prague will be looking to redeem themselves and win the Champions League for the first time since the 2019/20 season when they travel to the Czech Republic for the second leg of the Champions League Playoff Round after Lille's 2-0 victory in France. With a two-goal disadvantage, the bookmakers have Slavia at 6.25 odds to advance to the group stage, while the French squad is a gigantic favorite at 1.1.

Previous Matches and head-to-head

In the Czech Republic, Slavia Prague is ranked as the second-greatest club. "The Red and Whites" had a three-year winning streak from 2018–19 to 2020–21, but they have since ended in second place the last two seasons, narrowly losing out on the championship in one year due to head-to-head statistics and by two points in the other. Yet, they were able to participate in the Qualifiers, where they performed well, defeating Royale Union SG, a top Belgian club in recent memory, in the opener. Despite their current predicament, they have every reason to think they can come back from a two-goal hole against Lille, especially given their stellar home performances of late.

After finishing in fourth place in Ligue 1 last season, Lille was automatically qualified to play in the Champions League Qualifiers. They missed out on advancing straight to the Group Stage by the narrowest of margins, two points. Similar to Slavia, Lille faced a top-tier opponent in the preceding round as well. After a closely contested match, Lille prevailed in extra time over Fenerbahce, a club that had made significant financial investments in previous seasons. They are now only left with the daunting task of completing the work in the Czech Republic.

Slavia Praha x Lille Team News

Right midfielder Lukas Masopust left the pitch after 53 minutes of the last match against Lille due to a hamstring injury. Because of personal circumstances, David Doudera, their first-choice right flanker, will also likely not play in the second leg, adding to their misery.

Injuries are a major issue for Slavia Prague. Along with Masopust and Doudera, six more players—Daniel Fila, Stepan Chaloupek, Boluwatife Ogungbayi, Jindrich Stanek, Tomas Vlcek, and Ondrej Zmrzly—are expected to be sidelined due to injury.

The team's website states that starting left fullback Ismaily will likely need surgery after suffering a meniscus injury. A few weeks of rest is in store for the 34-year-old. Gabriel Gudmundsson will likely start in his stead now that he is sidelined with an injury.

Furthermore, due to injury, Akim Zedadka, Samuel Umtiti, Angel Gomes, Nabil Bentaleb, and Angel Gomes will all miss time.

As for the other side, Aissa Mandi, who was suspended for one game, should be fit to play in the second leg after serving it in the first.

Our Predictions

Under 2.5 goals @1.75 on Sky247.ng

The first game was a 2–0 victory for Lille, who were clearly the superior team. Slavia only managed 0.29xG because they gave them so few opportunities. We now anticipate that Lille will play it safe and attempt to limit their offensive output.

We are hesitant to bet on Lille winning (with AH 0), despite their superior performance in the first leg, due to Slavia's six wins in their past seven home European games. Last year, they beat AS Roma 2-0 and were perfect from the field five times!

With a shutout in each of their previous three matches across all competitions, Lille's defense has been rock solid as of late. On top of that, they aren't known for playing low-scoring games when they're not at home. The under 2.5 goal mark was met in 70% of their Ligue 1 games last season. In Europe, "The Mastiffs" have gone into their past six away games with a 67% under 2.5 goal differential.

In light of the above, we propose that the next match's under 2.5 goal bet be the most prudent.

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