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Lille hosts Grasshoppers Zurich hoping to secure qualification after winning 2-0 in the first leg. Champions League qualifying stage, third round.
Lille played a very good game in Switzerland and denied Grasshoppers too many scoring chances … the stats analysis shows only one shot on goal for the Zurich side and indeed it sums up how the game was played. It was the first match of Lille this season but they looked really good and ready to go. Now with qualification almost booked Lille will try to play a careful game, keeping the ball, staying safe at the back and trying to get 1 or 2 goals to wrap it up.
Grasshoppers finished second behind Basel in Switzerland but don’t look ready for Champions League football. They did not play so bad in the first leg and maybe 0-2 was harsh but still they looked inferior to Lille and could not reach the opposing goal too many times. The big problem for Grasshoppers is that they started this season in horrific form … 3 losses, 1 draw and they managed to score in only 1 game. Last time they played it was a 0-0 draw with Sion in the weekend (at home).
I don’t think Grasshoppers with their current form and goalscoring struggles can create much danger to the Lille goal … I expect Lille to dominate the game, stay safe at the back and finally get 1 or 2 goals over the 90 minutes because of their quality. The odds on Lille to win to nil are much better than for a -1 asian handicap, and I would not bet on a bigger handicap, Lille does not have to go all out and win big here. Also we must consider that Lille had the second best defense in France last season … 26 goals allowed in 38 matches, second only to PSG (23 goals). So according to the analysis my tip will be Lille to win to nil. Correct score prediction: Lille – Grasshoppers Zurich 1-0.
Pick: Lille to win to nil
Odds: 2.00 @ Bet365
Stake: 7
Possible profit: 7
Event date: 5 August
