Red Star Belgrade - Viktoria Plzen: Who will gain the advantage in the first Europa League qualifying play-off leg?
On Thursday, August 20, Red Star Belgrade will face Viktoria Plzen in the UEFA Europa League qualifying play-offs. The match will kick off at 20:00 CET, and I am offering you a bet on this fixture.
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Red Star Belgrade - Viktoria Plzen: Match preview
This is the final qualifying round of the European competition season. Last season, Red Star Belgrade once again won the league title, securing their ninth consecutive championship. However, they failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The Serbian side lost their two-legged tie against Hapoel Be'er Sheva 0-3 on aggregate. Before that, though, they had made a strong start to the new Serbian SuperLiga season, winning all three of their matches.
Viktoria Plzen have also already started the new season in the Czech First League, but their start has not been as successful as Red Star's. After four matches, the team have collected five points and currently sit 10th in the table. They have recorded one win, two draws and one defeat. Last season, Viktoria finished third and now have a chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
In any case, both Red Star Belgrade and Viktoria Plzen are guaranteed European football in the upcoming campaign. The losing team will play in the UEFA Conference League, while the winner will compete in the Europa League.
Match facts and H2H
- Red Star Belgrade have lost two of their last four matches.
- Viktoria Plzen have won one of their last four matches.
- Viktoria Plzen have scored in nine consecutive matches.
- These teams have never met in a competitive head-to-head fixture.
Probable line-ups
- Red Star Belgrade: Matheus; Seol, Luckassen, Erakovic, Tiknizyan; Krunic, Elsnik, Bukari, Kostov, Duarte; Arnautovic
- Viktoria Plzen: Wiegele; Memic, Dweh, Spacil, Doski; Hrosovsky, Cerv, Lawal, Souare, Kabango; Vydra
Prediction
We are clearly in for a very intriguing and exciting clash between these two sides. Neither Red Star Belgrade nor Viktoria Plzen will be willing to give an inch. I recommend betting on both teams to score in this match at odds of 1.66.
