Sturm Graz vs Lille Prediction: Draw on the cards in Austria

Sturm Graz and Lille will lock horns for the first time ever on Thursday, with the first leg of their Europa Conference League last-16 encounter taking place at the Merkur Arena. 

The hosts have excelled domestically this term, while they have also caught the eye in Europe, having finished third in Group D in the Europa League. Lille, meanwhile, topped their section in the Europa Conference League and are also in contention for the top three in Ligue 1. 

Team News 

Forward Seedy Jatta remains out for Sturm Graz, although defender Gregory Wuthrich is available again after serving a domestic suspension at the weekend. 

Remy Cabella and Adam Ounas are out for Lille, joining Ivan Cavaleiro, Samuel Umtiti and Andrej Ilic on the sidelines. 

Match Odds 

Lille are favourites to win this match at 23/20, while the draw is 9/4 and a win for hosts Sturm Graz is 5/2. 

In terms of goals, a low-scoring clash is expected with under 2.5 goals priced at 4/6, while a bet on one or both teams not to score is 5/6. 

Lille forward Jonathan David is 13/8 favourite to score in the match, followed by young Sturm Graz forward Mika Biereth, on loan from Arsenal, who is a 13/5 shot. 

Draw @ 9/4  

Lille are the stronger of the two sides at first glance. Not only do the Ligue 1 outfit ply their trade in a better division but they have more experience behind them and they are 23/20 favourites to win this first leg. 

However, the French side head into this match having lost three of their last four away fixtures in all competitions against Lyon, PSG and Toulouse, while they are also dealing with a number of key absentees from Remy Cabella to Samuel Umtiti. 

Indeed, Paulo Fonseca's men may be better placed playing conservatively during this first leg in Austria and the draw looks a value pick at 9/4. 

Sturm Graz may not have much continental experience behind them but they have been terrific this season. 

They had a tough Europa League group featuring Atalanta and Sporting Lisbon, but they managed to finish third in that section, thus dropping into this competition, before easing past Slovan Bratislava 5-1 on aggregate in their knockout stage play-off tie. 

In the Austrian Bundesliga, meanwhile, they have been putting the pressure on usual pacesetters Salzburg and have lost just two of their 21 matches in the league. 

With that in mind, they are capable of keeping this first leg tight, making the draw a distinct possibility. 

Jonathan David to score at anytime @ 13/8

Those after a goalscorer bet in this match should look no further than Jonathan David at 13/8. 

The Canadian may not have impressed on the continental stage this season but he has bagged 12 goals in Ligue 1 this term - only Kylian Mbappe (21) has more - and he is Lille's most reliable source for goals. 

He can boast a shot accuracy of 70 per cent in the league - better than the likes of Mbappe, Alexandre Lacazette and Wissam Ben Yedder - and he is fresh from bagging the winner against Reims on Saturday. 

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