Buoyed by a landmark victory on matchday three, LASK aim to consolidate their UEFA Champions League (UCL) play-off spot when hosting rock-bottom Slovan Bratislava, who arrive reeling from a string of heavy European defeats.
Match News and Current Form
Following an opening-round defeat to AEK Athens and a six-goal dismantling by Liverpool (6-3) here, LASK produced a stunning response on matchday three, claiming their first-ever European Cup/UCL victory with a 3-2 victory away at Sporting CP. A subsequent setback against Salzburg briefly stalled momentum, but LASK responded with back-to-back competitive victories to banish a miserable three-game losing run on home turf. LASK will have to lean heavily on those victories if they’re to make history by scoring 3+ goals in three consecutive major European matches for the very first time.
Slovan Bratislava continue to struggle in Europe’s top club competition, suffering defeats in all three opening fixtures, including a 4-0 loss to Roma last time out to leave them bottom of the table. That’s nothing new for the Slovakian side, who have now lost all 11 of their UCL main draw fixtures to secure the worst 100% loss rate in tournament history, with only three sides ever featuring more times without registering a victory. Slovan have at least won back-to-back away games in preparation for this clash, but their two UCL road trips this term ending in defeats by a 4+ goal margin make for bleak reading here.
Head-to-Head History
This will be the first ever competitive meeting between these two sides. Slovan have lost all four of their games against Austrian teams in major European competition, while LASK’s only European meeting against Slovakian opposition ended in a 7-0 win against DAC 1904 back in September 2020.
Hot Stats and Streaks
LASK scored five of their six UCL goals this term in the second half.
Eleven of LASK’s previous 14 home outings saw both teams score.
Five of Slovan’s last six matches produced over 2.5 goals.
Slovan conceded 3+ goals in six of their last seven away UCL proper away matches.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Robert Ljubičić has struck in the second half of back-to-back matches for LASK, forming part of a broader trend that has seen each of his last ten goals arrive after the break. Tigran Barseghyan has hit form after contributing to four goals across his last seven appearances (G3, A1), with five of his previous seven strikes for Slovan arriving in the second half.
LASK have suffered fresh injury setbacks recently, having lost George Bello and Melayro Bogarde, whilst Slovan aren’t reporting any fresh injuries.
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Betting Analysis
Slovan’s record in this competition is eye-catchingly bad, so much so that backing anything other than a LASK win would seem strange.
Author: Tomáš Vlasák