Sabasports Match Preview
UEFA Champions League Qualification: Lille vs Slavia Prague
Kickoff Time: 2023-08-21 03:00(HKT)
Source: USA TODAY Sports/William Navarro
This season, Lille’s lineup has undergone quite a few changes. The team has sold some key players while also brought in several new players such as Osame Sahraoui, Aissa Mandi, Thomas Meunier, Ngal Ayel Mukau, and Ethan Mbappe. However, the biggest change for Lille is actually in the head coach position. Bruno Genesio took over as the team’s head coach this summer. In his debut game leading the team, Bruno Genesio’s Lille defeated Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe in the Champions League qualifiers and successfully eliminated them in two legs. In the first round of the Ligue 1 last weekend, Lille won 2-0 against Reims away, achieving a good start in the league. It can be seen that Bruno Genesio’s coaching ability is worthy of recognition.
Slavia Prague is a strong team from the Czech Republic, and has shown great stability in the new season. In the previous round of the Champions League qualifiers, Slavia Prague eliminated Union St. Gallen with a total score of 4-1. In the Czech 1st League last weekend, Slavia Prague also won 2-1 against Teplice at home. In the seven games played this season so far, Slavia Prague has achieved an impressive record of six wins and one draw, performing quite well. However, despite the overall good form of the team, Slavia Prague’s tactics tend to be conservative. Especially when playing away, they often choose a passive defensive counter-attacking style, which may result in them being constantly under pressure when facing strong opponents in the Champions League.
Being in the Ligue 1, Lille undoubtedly has a higher overall strength than Slavia Prague. Even though Slavia Prague is in good form, the gap in raw strength between them and Lille is always there. Moreover, with this match being played at Lille’s home ground, they will naturally seize scoring opportunities and take advantage of their home strength.
Lille’s Last 5 Games: WLWWL
24-08-18 Reims 0-2 Lille
24-08-14 Fenerbahce 1-0 Lille (AET 1-1)
24-08-07 Lille 2-1 Fenerbahce
24-07-10 Lille 3-1 Celta Vigo
24-05-19 Wolfsburg 1-0 Lille
Slavia Prague’s Last 5 Games: WWWWW
24-08-17 Slavia Prague 2-1 Teplice
24-08-14 Union St.Gilloise 0-1 Slavia Prague
24-08-11 Slavia Prague 2-0 SK Sigma Olomouc
24-08-08 Slavia Prague 3-1 Union St. Gilloise
24-08-02 Slovan Liberec 0-1 Slavia Prague
Head To Head Record:
09-12-18 Lille 3-1 Slavia Prague
09-10-02 Slavia Prague 1-5 Lille
Prediction: Lille to win