Prediction: Lille vs Slavia Prague

Verdict: Lille win

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker: Luckster

Two sides who will be desperate to pick up a first-leg advantage on Tuesday night, Lille will welcome Slavia Prague to France.

Lille

Starting with the hosts, extending on their Champions League qualifying adventure last week as they secured a thrilling 3-2 aggregate victory against Turkish heavyweights Fenerbahce, Lille should find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Likewise, signing off their summer preparations with a 3-1 romp against Celta Vigo on July 30th, Bruno Genesio’s men are enjoying a recent flurry. Opening the new Ligue 1 campaign over the weekend with a deserved 2-0 win away at Reims as they picked up some perfect momentum, the Mastiffs will be confident of claiming a crucial first-leg advantage on Tuesday night. Pencilled in as a standout contender in midweek, Lille will also be excited by their continued success on home soil. In fact, Genesio’s side have remarkably suffered just a single competitive defeat in front of their own supporters over the past 11 months.

Team News

Suffering what was a serious head injury against Reims over the weekend and taken to hospital for further examination, Lille will be without former Manchester United starlet Angel Gomes on Tuesday night. Likewise, still sidelined after picking up a summer muscle issue, the Mastiffs are also without ex-Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb here.

However, despite both serving domestic suspensions on Saturday evening, the duo of Benjamin Andre and Kosovo international Edon Zhegrova are free to feature. Opening his Ligue 1 account away at Reims a few days ago, attacking talisman Jonathan David will spearhead Lille’s charge.

Slavia Prague

As for the visitors, eventually falling short last season in the race to claim a seventh domestic crown, Slavia Prague are desperate to go one-step further this time around. Flying out of the traps since opening up the 2024/25 campaign as they mustered 13 points from their first five top-flight appearances, Jindrich Trpisovsky’s men will be looking to make a heavyweight statement here. Extending on their respective Champions League qualifying adventure last week as they secured a stellar 4-1 aggregate victory against Belgium-based outfit Royale Union, Slavia will be excited by a trip to France on Tuesday night. Despite being pencilled in as a real underdog here, the Cervenobili have won all of their previous six appearances across all competitions by an aggregate score of 13-2.

Team News

All still dealing with respective injury issues, Slavia Prague will be unable to call upon the trio of Ondrej Zmrzly, Jindrich Stanek and Tomas Vlcek on Tuesday night. However, despite missing out on domestic duties over the weekend, Trpisovsky’s camp are hopeful that Slovakia international Ivan Schranz will be able to play some part here.

Coming off the bench and bagging a late winner against Teplice on Saturday afternoon, 21-year-old Christos Zafeiris should be handed a full recall. Arriving from Plzen this summer and notching a sensational brace at home against Royale Union on August 7th, Tomas Chory will spearhead Slavia’s attack.

Key Factors to Consider

• When Lille and Slavia Prague last met in European action back in 2009, the Mastiffs won their two group stage battles by an aggregate score of 8-2.
• Lille have suffered just a single competitive defeat in front of their own supporters over the past 11 months.
• Slavia Prague have won all of their previous six appearances across all competitions by an aggregate score of 13-2.
• All of Slavia’s opening three away fixtures this season have finished with under 1.5 goals.
• Including a strike away at Fenerbahce last week, Canadian international Jonathan David has scored back-to-back goals.

Conclusion

Collecting what was a heavyweight scalp last week as they edged past Turkish giants Fenerbahce, Lille will know the importance of claiming a first-leg advantage here. Picking up some perfect momentum over the weekend as they opened the new Ligue 1 campaign with a routine 2-0 win away at Reims, the Mastiffs will be excited by their continued success on home soil. Suffering just a single competitive defeat in front of their own supporters over the past 11 months, we are backing a Lille victory on Tuesday night.

Verdict: Lille win 

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker: Luckster