Football European Championship 2024 – overall ranking: winner England
Our pick: Football European Championship 2024 - overall position: winner England 14.06.2024 21:00 European Football…
Our tip: Slavia Prague – St.Gilloise: winner Slavia
07.08.2024 19:00
A day after Sparta Prague, Slavia will play the third round of the Champions League and if they qualify for the playoffs, they may meet Jose Mourih, who after finishing at AS Roma has found a new job at Fenerbahce, a potential rival of the Susians.
Slavia famously beat Roma 2-0 at home last year and would take the same result on Wednesday night. But the team is not as polished as Sparta, plagued by a large number of players, including defensive stalwarts Staněk, Zmrzlý, Vlček. Still, they haven’t scored in three league rounds. The defensive is fine, but the Red and Whites are not completely in sync offensively.
The 4-0 home win over Ceske Budejovice is not a coin of the realm, Dynamo are in disarray. Once Slavia faced an organized opponent that could run, they had trouble scoring. They played out a goalless draw at Slovácko and won 1-0 in Liberec only thanks to an unprecedented bomb by Diouf, they didn’t show much more under Jested.
For the first time since his controversial transfer from Plzeň, Tomáš Chorý has started at the top, but he is not as well after his return from the Euros as Ivan Schranz, Mojmír Chytil or Lukáš Provod. Trpišovský then completely neglects the top scorer of the last two league seasons, Václav Jurecka. It is difficult to guess who will play in the middle in the case of the Slavia coach.
Saint-Gilloise will fight for the Champions League after a year’s break, having crashed out in the 3rd preliminary round against Glasgow Rangers the year before last year, after a 2-0 home win then they fell 0-3 in the return leg and absorbed great disappointment. In the meantime, they have played the quarter-finals of the Europa League and the eighth round of the Conference League, so Slavia will have their work cut out for them.
But Union have also already stumbled in the new season, after triumphing in the domestic Super Cup they drew 0-0 at the field of league newcomer Dender. They had fixed their mood in their home debut against Beerschot, but even after a 3-1 win, new coach Sébastien Pocognoli was not completely satisfied. After a dominant first half (2-0), the team slowed down in the second half and seemed to be running out of steam.
In any case, Pocognoli has to do without two of last season’s top scorers, Algerian Mohamed Amour, who left for Wolfsburg in Germany, and Swedish international Gustaf Nilsson, who joined champions Brugge. He is worried about absences in defence, where he is missing a pair of steady English stoppers, Ross Sykes, Christian Burgess.
What to bet on:
Slavia are strong in the European Cups in Eden and have beaten better opponents than Saint-Gilloise, who don’t bite like they do at home. Even if they are not in top form, they will build at least a one-goal lead before the rematch.
Trust:
7/10
Recommended bookmaker for this bet:
WAZAMBA ► Bet on Wazamba with a 100% bonus on your first deposit! |