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Lens deserved more from their last two league games which they lost despite dominating the pitch. Slavia Prague are playing great in the Czech Republic, so I think a draw is a realistic outcome on Thursday.
Key Stats
- Slavia Prague have drawn 2 of their last 4 matches.
- Slavia Prague have drawn their last 2 matches against Lens.
- Slavia Prague have seen BTTS in 3 of their last 4 home matches.
- Lens have drawn 4 of their last 9 away matches.
- Lens have seen BTTS in 2 of their last 3 matches.
First H2H Since 1995
These two sides clashed in the UEFA Cup in late 1995. Slavia Prague advanced on aggregate.
Slavia are in Good Form
This is the fourth time Slavia Prague reached the Champions League main stage, and they qualified after winning the national title last season.
Jindrich Trpisovsky's side has been in good form, grabbing 17 out of possible 21 points in the First League and top the table.
They wrapped up August with a huge 3-0 victory against archrival Sparta Prague, while starting this month with a commanding 4-0 home win over Brno with Tomas Chory netting a brace. David Jurasek and Emmanuel Ayaosi also appeared on the scoresheet.
Lens Missing a lot of Chances
Lens had an amazing start to the new campaign, taking down PSG 1-0 in the French Super Cup finals and then collected three points in Ligue 1 opener against Auxerre 5-2.
The Blood & Gold have been struggling since. The first setback was recorded in late August on a trip to Strasbourg, losing 2-1 despite leading at half-time and posting 2.91-1.83 expected goals.
Dino Toppmoller's side were expected to bounce back last weekend at home against underdog Lorient, but lost this encounter 1-0. They had high xG once again, Odsonne Edouard and Florian Thauvin missing big chances to find an equalizer.
Team News & Predicted Lineups
Slavia Prague (3-4-2-1) Jakub Markovic; Stepan Chaloupek, Tomas Vlcek, Mikulas Konecny; Samuel Isife, Michal Sadilek, Wiktor Nowak, David Jurasek; Danijel Sturm, Emmanuel Ayaosi; Tomas Chory
Igoh Ogbu, Tomas Holes, Youssoupha Sanyang, Ondrej Kolar, and Jindrich Stanek remain sidelined while Lukas Provod and David Zima are doubtful.
Igoh Ogbu, Tomas Holes, Youssoupha Sanyang, Ondrej Kolar, and Jindrich Stanek remain sidelined while Lukas Provod and David Zima are doubtful.
Lens (3-4-3) Brice Samba; Jonathan Gradit, Kevin Danso, Facundo Medina; Ruben Aguilar, Andy Diouf, Nampalys Mendy, Przemyslaw Frankowski; Florian Sotoca, Angelo Fulgini; Wesley Said
Lens missing Maik Nawrocki, Matthieu Udol, Junior Kadile, Saud Abdulhamid and Jean-Clair Todibo, all five recovering from injuries.
Lens missing Maik Nawrocki, Matthieu Udol, Junior Kadile, Saud Abdulhamid and Jean-Clair Todibo, all five recovering from injuries.