Slovan Bratislava vs Celje Prediction: Slovakians to oust Slovenians

An intriguing Champions League second-round qualifier takes place between Slovan Bratislava and Celje on Tuesday (19:30), with the score 1-1 after last Wednesday's first leg in Slovenia.

Ahead of this week's second leg at Tehelne pole in Bratislava, Slovakia, you can check out my Slovan Bratislava vs Celje prediction below and find out all the latest team news and match odds.

Football Odds

Team News

Slovan midfielder Kyriakos Savvidis was sent off inside the first half an hour of last week's first leg and is suspended for the return fixture in Bratislava.

Julius Szoke could replace the Greek in an otherwise unchanged starting XI from last week with former Premier League players Kevin Wimmer, Juraj Kucka and Vladimir Weiss all in the side.

Celje have fitness concerns over midfielder Tamar Svetlin, who was forced off in the first half of last Wednesday's stalemate. If he misses out, Mario Kvesic is the most likely replacement.

Slovan Bratislava vs Celje Odds

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Tuesday's hosts are 19/20 to win inside regulation time and advance to the next round, giving them an implied win probability of 51.3%, while the visitors are 5/2, or a 28.6% chance, to triumph themselves inside 90 minutes.

The draw, which would send the tie to extra-time, is available at 12/5, and both teams to score is priced at 4/6.

Slovan Bratislava to win @ 19/20

Celje should be fresh after being given the weekend off, but home advantage could prove pivotal for Slovan who will expect to step things up after a lacklustre showing in Slovenia.

In fairness, they had to spend more than two-thirds of the game a man down after Savvidis' red card and showed great fight to hold onto a draw.

With equal players on the pitch, Slovan should have too much for their Slovenian visitors, who will be disappointed they couldn't take advantage of the opportunity presented to them last week.

Slovan reached the third qualifying round of last season's competition before being dumped out 5-2 on aggregate by Maccabi Haifa and they will be desperate to at least replicate those efforts.

Half-Time/Full-Time - Draw/Slovan Bratislava @ 21/10

It was a thrilling start to the game in Celje last week as both sides scored inside the opening 11 minutes.

Luka Bobicanec struck first for the Slovenians in the seventh minute before David Strelec levelled the scores up four minutes later.

The red card shown to Savvidis pretty much killed the contest off as it became a game of attack versus defence with Celje unable to break past a stubborn Slovan defence.

I foresee a much quieter opening this time around, perhaps with a goalless first half before the match springs to life in the second.

So much is on the line for both teams and there may be nerves in the first 45 minutes.

Ultimately, though, I think Slovan will have too much firepower with the likes of Weiss and Robert Mak already in the goalscoring groove this term.

Offers

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