Slavia Prague vs Genk Predictions

Slavia Prague finished a point behind Zenit in Group C and qualified despite only scoring four goals in their six matches. The Czech side’s well organised defence is the main reason they progressed through to the knockout stage with only three goals conceded and four clean sheets kept, and Genk have their work cut out for them if they are to become the first team to score at the Sinobo Stadium in the Europa League this season. Genk’s contrasting style saw them score fourteen goals and concede eight on their way to claiming the top spot in Group I ahead of Malmo, who only managed to score half the amount of goals in their six matches.

Slavia Prague beat Teplice 2-0 in the Czech First League on Saturday’s to maintain their hold on the top spot, but left it late against their guests scoring twice inside the last seven minutes. Genk also picked up three points this week to increase their lead at the top of the Belgian First Division A, scoring twice without reply against title rivals Standard Liege. Both clubs are performing really well in their respective leagues and have proved themselves difficult to beat in the Europa League, so we’re expecting a highly competitive ninety minutes between the pair on Thursday.

This game feels like it could go either way and looks likely to come down to the specific strengths that both teams have shown in recent weeks and throughout the group stage of the Europa League. Slavia Prague kept four clean sheets and only conceded three goals during the group stage, while Genk netted fourteen times and conceded on eight occasions, and with the home advantage on Thursday, we believe that defence will topple attack. Slavia Prague have kept four clean sheets in their last six competitive matches, while Genk have only kept one clean sheet in their last five attempts; and at the other end of the pitch Genk have scored thirteen goals in their last six matches, while Slavia Prague have scored eleven times during that same period.

Both teams form heading into Thursday’s 1st leg is exactly the same, with each winning five and losing one of their last six matches. Zmrhal is the only player to have scored more than once for Slavia in the Europa League this season, but only has two goals to his name, while Samatta has nine and Trossard has seven for Genk during the qualifying and group stages. We’re confident that defence will come out on top against attack on Thursday, backing Slavia Prague to win to nil against Genk and for the final scoreline to end 1-0.