- 1 Sabah vs Slavia Prague: a historic night in Baku against a side that can’t buy a European win
- 2 Sabah: seven straight home wins and a crowd ready for the occasion
- 3 Slavia Prague: unbeaten in Czechia, but a defence stripped bare by injuries and suspension
- 4 Free Champions League Prediction: Sabah vs Slavia Prague
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
Sabah vs Slavia Prague: a historic night in Baku against a side that can’t buy a European win 
Sixteen European games without a win. Five draws, eleven defeats. That’s the weight Slavia Prague carry into Baku on Tuesday (18:45 Paris time), and it’s a record that sits awkwardly next to their domestic form, where they haven’t lost all season.
Across the pitch stands a club playing its first-ever Champions League home game. Sabah were hammered 4-0 at Old Trafford on matchday one, failing to register a single shot on target against Manchester United. In Baku, though, they’ve been a different proposition altogether.
The data paints a specific picture here. Sabah have won seven home games in a row, including all four of their Champions League qualifiers in Azerbaijan. Twelve goals scored, two conceded in those qualifiers. And with Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona and Napoli still to visit later in the league phase, this is the home game Valdas Dambrauskas will have circled.
Slavia, for their part, should feel aggrieved about matchday one. Down to ten men shortly after half-time when Mikulas Konecny was sent off, they still took the lead twice through Danijel Sturm before Lens struck twice in stoppage time to win 3-2. A cruel night. Also a revealing one: this side scores goals even when it’s short of bodies, and it concedes them just as easily.
Bookmakers lean towards the visitors at around 1.91 to 2.07, with Sabah between 3.25 and 3.61. The goals markets are shorter still, and that’s no accident. Both sides attack. Neither defends well enough to shut the game down.
Which version of Slavia turns up? The domestic machine or the European underachiever? Either way, the goals should come at both ends.
Sabah: seven straight home wins and a crowd ready for the occasion 
Forget the Old Trafford scoreline for a moment. That 4-0 defeat is Sabah’s only loss in their last seven matches across all competitions, a run that includes five wins and four clean sheets. A side that knows what it’s about on its own patch.
The home numbers are the real story. Seven consecutive victories, with the four Champions League qualifiers in Baku producing 12 goals for and only two against. Wins over Hapoel Be’er Sheva and AGF along the way showed this group can handle European opposition.
Joy-Lance Mickels leads the line and has four goals from 25 shots in the competition so far. The bigger threat might come from deeper: Veljko Simic has six goals from midfield and is expected to start in the number 10 role. Khayal Aliyev, the usual attacking midfielder, is still working his way back from a long-term hamstring injury.
Kaheem Parris and Christian Nwachukwu should flank Simic, giving Sabah pace on both sides. Against a Slavia defence missing its regular wide players, that’s an area they’ll target early.
Emotions will run high. It’s the club’s first home game in the competition proper, and that can cut both ways. Expect them to push forward from the first whistle.
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Slavia Prague: unbeaten in Czechia, but a defence stripped bare by injuries and suspension 
Four straight league wins, the latest a 1-0 at FC Fastav Zlin on Friday. Before that, a 2-1 against Viktoria Plzen, a 2-0 at Teplice and a 4-0 against Zbrojovka Brno. Jindrich Trpisovsky’s side are unbeaten domestically this season, and that’s the confidence they bring to Azerbaijan.
Europe is another matter entirely. Sixteen matches without a win takes some explaining, especially for a club with this much experience at this level. The Lens defeat stretched the run in the most painful way possible.
The team sheet is a problem. Konecny is suspended after his red card. Fellow centre-back Igoh Ogbu is out with an Achilles injury, and Stepan Chaloupek is a doubt with a hamstring issue. That likely forces a back three of Tomas Vlcek, David Zima and Tomas Holes.
It doesn’t get easier out wide. Adonija Ouanda and Pavel Kacor (shoulder) are unavailable on the right, while left wing-backs David Jurasek (hamstring) and Oskar Kubiak are both doubts. Samuel Isife and Mubarak Suleiman look set to fill those roles.
Going forward, Slavia still carry real quality. Emmanuel Ayaosi and Lukas Provod should supply Mojmir Chytil, and Sturm’s double against Lens proved they can create even with a man down. A makeshift backline, though, is exactly what Sabah’s home attack has been feasting on.
Probable lineup Sabah: Pokatilov; Zedadka, Dasdamirov, McCarthy, Puchacz; Rakhmonaliev, Lepinjica; Parris, Simic, Nwachukwu; Mickels
Probable lineup Slavia Prague: Markovic; Vlcek, Zima, Holes; Isife, Sadilek, Nowak, Suleiman; Ayaosi, Provod; Chytil
Free Champions League Prediction: Sabah vs Slavia Prague
Our prediction: Both teams to score @ 1.57
Sabah have scored in every one of their recent home wins, putting 12 past qualifying opponents in four games in Baku. Slavia arrive with three senior defenders unavailable or doubtful and two more wing-backs in question. That’s a back line built on the morning of the match, against the most dangerous home attack they’ll face all season.
At the other end, Slavia scored twice against Lens with ten men and have the attacking depth in Chytil, Provod and Ayaosi to hurt a Sabah side that conceded four at Old Trafford. Sabah’s home record is strong, but it was built against qualifying opposition, not against a Czech champion in this kind of domestic form.
Picking a winner here is a coin toss. Picking goals at both ends isn’t. Both teams to score at 1.57 is the call.
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