Feyenoord vs Slavia Prague Prediction: Lift off at De Kuip for Dutch giants

Brian Priske led Sparta Prague to back-to-back Czech First League titles earlier this year but on Wednesday (20:00, TNT Sports 6), the Danish head coach will be tasked with defeating his old side as boss of Feyenoord, who will play hosts at De Kuip.

Below is my Feyenoord vs Sparta Prague prediction, complete with team news and match odds, ahead of this league phase meeting in the Uefa Champions League.

Team News

Feyenoord have a lengthy injury list containing talents such as Ayase Ueda, Julian Carranza, Hugo Bueno and Jordan Lotomba. With Ueda and Carranza out, Santiago Gimenez should be nailed-on to start at centre-forward, although the Mexican has only recently returned from injury himself.

Football Odds

Sparta Prague are missing two of their most influential players, Lukas Haraslin and Angelo Preciado, as well as Imanol Garcia. Indrit Tuci is also a doubt, so expect Jakub Pesek, Victor Olatunji and Albion Rrahmani to start in attack.

Feyenoord vs Sparta Prague Odds

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Feyenoord are 4/11 to get off the mark at De Kuip in the Champions League with a victory on Wednesday, giving the Dutch side an implied win probability of 73.3%, while Sparta Prague are 7/1, or a 12.5% chance, to triumph for the first time on their travels in the league phase.

The draw is priced at 4/1, both teams to score at 8/11, and over 2.5 total goals at 8/15.

Gimenez (1/1) is favourite to score anytime while Albion Rrahmani (16/5) is shortest priced for the Czech side.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 3.5 - Feyenoord & Over 3.5 Goals @ 15/8

Feyenoord have lost both home games so far, suffering a 4-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen and a 3-1 loss to Red Bull Salzburg, but should be buoyed by coming from three goals down to draw 3-3 with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last time out in the competition.

The Eredivisie outfit should also be encouraged by their five-game unbeaten run, of which they have won three, heading into this fixture, while their opponents at De Kuip, Sparta Prague, were winless in six November matches before beating Karvina 4-1 on December 3 and following that victory up with a 1-0 triumph over Bohemians last Saturday.

Sparta beat Salzburg 3-0 in Prague in their first league phase game on September 18 but have failed to win any of their last four, drawing 1-1 at Stuttgart and losing away to Man City (5-0), at home to Brest (1-2), and at home to Atletico Madrid (0-6).

The Czech side have suffered two big defeats already in this season's Champions League and will be worried about a third in Rotterdam with Feyenoord in rude health.

Sparta are missing some key men in midweek and while Feyenoord have their own absentees, I think the hosts will be able to cope much better.

I'm backing a Feyenoord win and I'm sensing a few goals in this one, too. All five of Feyenoord's league phase matches so far have seen at least four goals scored.

Sparta, meanwhile, have been involved in high-scoring games against Man City and Atletico, although, of course, all 11 goals scored across those two contests came against them. As such, I'll swerve both teams to score and just back a Feyenoord win and over 3.5 total goals, with the expectation that the hosts will contribute to most, if not all, of the strikes.

Bet Builder - Santiago Gimenez (FEY) Anytime Goalscorer, David Hancko (FEY) 2+ Shots, Hwang In-beom (FEY) 1+ Fouls @ 4/1

Gimenez has enjoyed a productive couple of seasons at Feyenoord, scoring 23 in his first campaign and 26 in his second, and already has six this term, despite missing 11 games through injury.

The 23-year-old made his comeback in last month's draw at Man City, appearing as a second-half substitute and netting within 10 minutes of his introduction to help his side get back into the contest. He followed that strike up with another one against Fortuna Sittard four days later and made his first start in nearly three months in Saturday's 3-2 win at Waalwijk.

I'm expecting Feyenoord to rattle a few in on Wednesday and Gimenez should be among the goalscorers, so he's an obvious pick to find the net in the first leg of this Bet Builder.

Next, I'm backing Slovakian defender David Hancko to shoot at least twice, something he has managed in 60 per cent (three) of his five league phase matches so far.

The 26-year-old shot three times v Leverkusen, once v Girona, once v Benfica, twice v Salzburg, and twice v Man City, scoring the all-important equaliser against the Premier League champions with his second effort at the Etihad.

Hancko is averaging 1.8 shots per game in this season's Champions League and is averaging the same number in the Eredivisie, registering at least two shots in his last couple of Dutch top-flight appearances.

My third and final selection of this Bet Builder requires Feyenoord midfielder Hwang In-beom to commit at least one foul. The South Korean is averaging 1.8 fouls per game in this season's Champions League, making one v Leverkusen, three v Girona, one v Benfica, two v Salzburg, and two v Man City.

He's committed at least one foul in all five European outings so far this term so should be good for another on Wednesday.

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