Lask Linz vs Slovan Bratislava Prediction

Mixed form lines for both sides

Lask Linz's recent sample, which stretches across the Bundesliga, cup football and friendlies, shows 12 wins from 20 with plenty of goals at both ends. They've put five past Celtic and beaten Grazer AK and Ried comfortably, but there's also a heavy cup defeat and a flat loss away at AEK Athens in there.

Lask Linz: 20 completed matches; Slovan Bratislava: 20 completed matches.

Lask Linz

20 matches

Win

60% 12 / 20

Draw

5% 1 / 20

Loss

35% 7 / 20

Scored

53

Conceded

22

Difference

+31

Slovan Bratislava

20 matches

Win

65% 13 / 20

Draw

20% 4 / 20

Loss

15% 3 / 20

Scored

47

Conceded

23

Difference

+24

Slovan Bratislava's log looks a touch tidier on paper, 13 wins from 20 with 46 scored. They've rolled over domestic opposition like Ružomberok and Podbrezová with ease, but the one result that stands out is a 6-1 battering away at Paris Saint-Germain in this competition.

Both teams can score goals, but both have also shipped some heavy ones against stronger opposition.

Comparative Team Statistics: Lask Linz vs Slovan Bratislava

Both sides off the mark slowly in Europe

In the Champions League league phase itself, both teams are still searching for their first points. Lask Linz lost 1-0 away at AEK Athens, while Slovan Bratislava were beaten 6-1 at PSG, results that have left them down near the bottom of that wider table after a single game.

It's only one match each, so there's not much to read into the table position itself. But it does mean both arrive here needing a response rather than carrying any real momentum from this competition.

Šporar the main man to watch

The player information we have points mainly to Slovan Bratislava. Andraz Šporar has two goals in his last four appearances, so he looks like their likeliest source of goals.

Slovan Bratislava:

Best scorers:

A. Šporar - 2

Penalty cards:

C. Blackman x 3

A. Mustafić x 2

Sandro Cruz x 2

A few of their players, Blackman, Mustafić and Sandro Cruz, have picked up yellow cards across their recent matches too, which is worth bearing in mind without reading too much into it on its own.

How this one could play out

Both teams have shown they can score goals in bulk against weaker opposition, yet both have also been cut open by sharper sides, Lask Linz away at AEK Athens and Slovan Bratislava away at PSG. That suggests goals are possible if either side opens up.

Slovan's away form includes some big away wins domestically, so they won't just sit back here. Lask Linz, at home and needing a reset after their own league-phase opener, will fancy using that same home advantage that's served them well against Bundesliga sides this season.