Viktoria Plzen vs Ferencvaros Prediction: Much Adu about nothing as hosts bite back after Budapest defeat

After beating Viktoria Plzen 1-0 in Budapest last week, Robbie Keane's Ferencvaros side have a lead to protect in the second leg of their Uefa Europa League knockout phase play-off tie at Doosan Arena on Thursday (20:00, TNT Sports 7).

Below are my Viktoria Plzen vs Ferencvaros predictions, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, as the Czechs look to claw their way back into this tie.

Team News

Daniel Vasulin is free to return for Viktoria Plzen after missing last week's defeat in Hungary through suspension, while Svetozar Markovic is back available after serving a domestic ban during his side's 2-0 win at Teplice last Sunday.

Christophe Kabongo (knee) remains sidelined, however, while neither Cory Sene nor Cheick Souare have been included in the Czech club's Europa League squad.

Football Odds

Lenny Joseph, Aleksandar Cirkovic and Habib Maiga can share Sene's and Souare's pain as they aren't in Ferencvaros' European squad, while leading marksman Barnabas Varga is suspended.

Goalkeeper Denes Dibusz (hip) is also a major doubt for this one and back-up Adam Varga is also set to miss out, so 35-year-old David Grof may deputise again.

Viktoria Plzen vs Ferencvaros Odds

Plzen are 8/13 to get the victory they need to at least force extra time on Thursday, implying a 61.9% probability of success, while Ferencvaros are 4/1, or a 20% chance, to do the double over their Czech counterparts.

The draw is priced at 16/5, both teams to score at 1/1, and over 2.5 total goals at 10/11.

The hosts are 5/6 to win the tie by any means, and you can get the same odds for the visitors.

Plzen pair Matej Vydra and Pavel Sulc, who have scored three and two times respectively in the Europa League this season, head the anytime goalscorer market at 13/8, with Aleksandar Pesic first up for Ferencvaros at 100/30.

To Win Tie - Viktoria Plzen @ 5/6

Ferencvaros head into the second leg this week a goal to the good thanks to Mohammad Abu Fani's 23rd-minute strike at the Groupama Arena last Thursday, but it was Plzen who registered the most shots (17) and the highest xG (1.13), and the momentum graph of that game showed that after Fani's finish, it was Plzen that exerted more attacking pressure.

Of course, Ferencvaros were 1-0 up, so they didn't necessarily need another goal, but with a second leg in the Czech Republic to come, I was surprised by how meek they were on home soil, especially as their away record in this competition makes for poor reading.

Ferencvaros lost three of their four league phase matches, going down 2-1 to Anderlecht, 5-0 to PAOK, and 2-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt, only managing to avoid defeat when they thrashed Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kyiv who, in the 17th minute, were reduced to 10 men, 4-0 at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany.

Plzen, meanwhile, beat Real Sociedad (2-1) and Anderlecht (2-0) at home in the league phase, drawing to Ludogorets (0-0) and narrowly losing to Manchester United (1-2) in their other two matches at Doosan Arena.

Thursday's visitors have only won one of their last seven away games in all competitions and none of their last three, while their first-leg triumph was their only success in their last five contests.

At home, where they have won their last three matches, Plzen should have too much for their opponents, and I could even see the Czechs overcoming a goal handicap in regulation time, although it may be worth the added insurance of just backing them to win the tie at 5/6.

Anytime Goalscorer - Prince Kwabena Adu (PLZ) @ 9/5

Plzen forward Prince Kwabena Adu was left on the bench for the duration of his side's victory over Teplice on Sunday, but the 21-year-old started and finished the first leg in Budapest and looks likely to come back into Miroslav Koubek's starting XI on Thursday.

Adu failed to fire in Hungary but did score three goals in seven league-phase outings, netting in both of Plzen's home wins.

The Ghanaian has also struck five times in 15 Czech First League appearances since moving from Ukrainian side Kryvbas last summer and only Sulc (eight) and Amar Memic (seven) have scored more league goals for Plzen than him this term.

At 9/5, there looks to be real value in backing Adu to get on the scoresheet against Ferencvaros, who shipped nine goals on their travels in the league phase.

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