After qualifying through the third qualifying round in contrasting styles, Lille and Slavia Prague face each other in the Champions League playoff round with the first leg.
The match will take place on Wednesday (21/8/2024) at 12.30 IST.
The two teams meet at the Stade du Hainaut in Valenciennes, as Lille’s home stadium is still unavailable following the Olympics and both will be looking to take an advantage into next week’s second leg.
Lille visited Turkish giants Fenerbahce at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium last week and Jose Mourinho was understandably unhappy as they narrowly won at the end of extra time.
Les Dogues progressed 3-2 on aggregate thanks to Jonathan David’s dramatic 118th-minute winner, which secured a valuable place in the Champions League play-off round .
Lille vs Slavia Prague Predicted Lineups
Bruno Genesio must make at least two changes to the Lille side that lined up at Reims at the weekend, as centre-back Aissa Mandi will serve a suspension for his last-minute sending off against Fenerbahce and former Manchester United midfielder Angel Gomes has a serious head injury.
Several players were rested on Saturday, but Thomas Meunier, Hakon Haraldsson and Jonathan David are all set to return to the starting XI in midweek.
David scored 26 goals in all competitions last season and has been in impressive form this term, with the Canada international set to join Haraldsson and Remy Cabella in the final third.
Slavia’s main summer signing Tomas Chory scored twice in the third qualifying round and is one of several contenders to feature in the visitors’ attacking trident.
Chory’s fellow Czech internationals Mojmir Chytil and Lukas Provod join Slovakia’s Euro 2024 star Ivan Schranz in the race for selection, while Vaclav Jurecka cannot be overlooked.
Meanwhile, Oscar Dorley and Christos Zafeiris both scored in Saturday’s 2-1 league win over Teplice, and they should feature alongside captain Lukas Masopust in midfield.
Possible Lille starting line-ups :
Chevalier; Meunier, Diakite, Alexsandro, Gudmundsson; Santos, Mukau, Andre; Cabella, Haraldsson; David
Possible Slavia Prague line-ups :
Kinsky; Holes, Ogbu, Zima; Masopust, Dorley, Zafeiris, Diouf; Schranz, Chory, Provod
Lille vs Slavia Prague Score Prediction
Slavia Prague have conceded just twice in seven competitive games this season, so Lille will have to work hard to secure a first-leg advantage.
The Ligue 1 club should win against a strong away side, making this a very interesting game ahead of next week’s fixtures.
Lille 1-0 Slavia Prague Score Prediction
Lille vs Slavia Prague Live Streaming Link
You can watch the Lille vs Slavia Praha match via the Sony Liv in India.