Bordeaux vs FK Ventspils Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

An early Zaydou Youssouf goal essentially killed off the first leg three minutes in as Ventspils tried desperately but ultimately failed to take advantage of their home game. They now face a tough away leg in France with Bordeaux high off a great run of form with seven wins in their last nine matches.

On paper Bordeaux should be walking away with this fixture. A team that reached the group stages of the Europa League only three years ago and a squad with the likes of French World Cup standby player Benoit Costil and Denmark international Lukas Lerager should really be breezing past a team only formed in 1997. Bordeuax have a much better European pedigree with the Girondins finishing runners up in the 1996 UEFA Cup final, whereas despite this being Ventspils’ 19th consecutive campaign in Europe, they have failed to ever really leave an imprint on the continent.

The Latvians’ only real highlight would be the 2009/10 campaign where they managed to beat BATE Borisov in the Champions League third qualifying round but after being thrashed by Zürich in the next game, Ventspils dropped into the Europa League group stage alongside the likes of Hertha BSC and Sporting Lisbon, where they finished fourth.

The main factor falling in Ventspils favour would be their domestic form. Currently sitting in second place behind Rigas, Ventspils have a real chance to win the Virsliga for the first time since 2014. They are currently on a six-game domestic unbeaten streak with dominant wins over Jelgava and Valmiera and this run of form will be what manager Dejan Vukićević will want his players to use to win this tie. They also have the advantage of the Latvian league being in full flow, whereas Bordeaux are still in pre-season. However, Ventspils may suffer from playing a game on Sunday when Bordeaux’s last match was the first leg last week, so the French may have the fitness over the Latvians.

Despite last week’s fixture being their first competitive match of the season, Bordeaux looked lively, with seven shots and 17 crosses into the box. They have enjoyed a solid pre-season so far with no losses in four games against teams of varying quality. Their victory over Saint-Étienne will stand them in good stead for the season ahead but draws against MC Alger and Bundesliga Second Division side Union Berlin show that they are still not operating at full capacity.

The advantage of this second leg being played at home will largely play into Bordeaux’s hands and they should progress, but it will be a tight game, due to Ventspils’ season being already 16 games in. The Latvians have only lost four of their last nine away days in the Europa League and Bordeaux will be content to keep it tight at the back and maintain their aggregate lead. We certainly wouldn’t rule out a tight draw here, and at odds as valuable as these that’s exactly what we’re doing, along with our 1-1 correct score predictions.