Lille vs Slavia Praha Prediction: Hosts to take the advantage

Lille welcome Slavia Praha to Stade du Hainaut for the first leg of their Champions League play-off tie on Tuesday (20:00). Lille made their way through by edging out Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce in extra time last week.

They will be in for another tough tie against Slavia Praha, who defeated Union Saint-Gilloise in their third qualifying round. Read on for my Lille vs Slavia Praha prediction, featuring match odds and team news.

Lille vs Slavia Praha Odds

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Lille are 8/11 to win this first leg, which gives them a theoretical chance of 57.9%. Slavia Praha are valued at 7/2, giving them an implied probability of 22.2%. The draw can be backed at 5/2 (28.6%).

Both teams to score is on offer at 4/5 and over 2.5 goals is marketed at 10/11.

Football Odds

Team News

Lille are going to be missing midfielder Angel Gomes after the player picked up a serious head injury in the 2-0 win over Reims at the weekend. Defender Aissa Mandi will also be unavailable for selection after picking up a red card against Fenerbahce last Tuesday.

Boss Bruno Genesio rested several players at the weekend such as star forward Jonathan David, Thomas Meunier and Hakon Haroldsson, and all three are set to return to the starting lineup against Slavia Praha.

The visitors have been enjoying watching summer arrival, Tomas Chory, in action so far, with the player having netted twice in the Champions League third qualifying round.

His fellow Czech internationals Mojmir Chytil and Lukas Provod join Slovakia's Euro 2024 talisman Ivan Schranz in a battle for selection.

Oscar Dorley and Christos Zafeiris were both on the scoresheet in Saturday's 2-1 league win over Teplice, and they should feature alongside captain Lukas Masopust in the middle of the park.

Lille and under 2.5 goals @ 11/4

The onus will be on the French side to capitalise on this first leg, despite not being in their usual home, and I think they have more than enough individual quality to take a lead to Prague next week. They are unbeaten in their first three games of the season across all competitions, picking up two wins, and I think that will factor into Tuesday night's outcome.

With front man David leading the line, who already has two goals to his name this term, Lille need to make the most of this first leg and they will try and put this tie beyond doubt here.

However, it won't be easy. Slavia Praha have proven to be a tough nut to crack so far this campaign. They have conceded just twice in seven competitive games and so Lille will have their work cut out for them to take a commanding lead into next week's clash.

That is why I am backing the French side to win but for there to be under 2.5 goals. Coincidentally, their last two matches have seen less than three goals scored, so we could in fact see this trend continue on Tuesday against a side who boast a strong defensive record.

Jonathan David anytime goalscorer @ 5/4

With the visitors looking to be a tough defence to break down, Lille will look to their prolific striker David for inspiration. The Canadian has the quality to penetrate a stubborn defensive line but this won't be easy.

Nonetheless, I think he's worth backing to find the back of the net here because he has scored in both of his last two outings so he heads into this contest with a lot of confidence.

And having netted, over 20 goals across all competitions last year, he will be eager to better last year's tally by profiting from these Champions League clashes. He will want more chances for goals so he will look to secure his side's place in the main draw for the new-look Champions League group stage format, and for that to happen, he needs to help his side get past their Czech opponents.

The Canadian will give the Slavia Praha defenders a lot to think about in this match, and I do think they will find it difficult to keep him quiet for 90 minutes.

 Offers

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