Crvena Zvezda take on the visitors Lille in the second leg of UEFA Europa League round of 1/16-finals. First leg result: 1-0. The match will be played on Thursday, February 26th at Stadion Rajko Mitić (Belgrade).
Crvena Zvezda have already turned the league title at home into something close to a mandatory routine. However, their neighbor and eternal rival Partizan are not slowing down this time, so it is still too early to say that another Serbian “gold” is guaranteed. In the Champions League, after getting past Lincoln Red Imps and Lech, they lost in qualification to Pafos, largely due to a home defeat. In the more forgiving Europa League, they started with only a draw against Celta and a pair of losses away to Porto and Braga, but then went on to win four matches in a row, with the turning point coming precisely in the clash with the French side. And even after everything had effectively been decided, they still managed to secure a 1–1 draw against a strong opponent in Celta. Recently, Crvena Zvezda have been looking more confident in continental competition, especially at home. Their recent results suggest a growing balance between caution and initiative, which often pays off in tight matches.
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Lille can only save their season here. The Dogues were playing in the Champions League playoffs a year ago. However, despite that, they narrowly lost out to Nice and finished fifth, missing the chance to return to Europe’s top tournament. In the new season, instead of the expected rise, they dropped points in about half of their Ligue 1 matches, suffered numerous defeats, and were knocked out of the cup at home by Lyon. Of course, they will still try to correct the situation in the league, and they have every chance to do so if they improve in the final stretch. Still, it remains crucial to try to make a real impact in European competition. There, after starting with two wins, they then lost four times, despite home victories over Dinamo Zagreb and Freiburg. And last week, they conceded just before halftime at home and failed to respond in any meaningful way. Lille’s recent form has been inconsistent, with confidence clearly lacking in decisive moments. Away from home, their results have also raised doubts about their ability to control the tempo.
In November, the teams faced each other, also in Belgrade. Back then, the only goal was scored in the 85th minute from the penalty spot. It is believed that the teams have roughly equal chances of winning this tie. But it seems the French side are neither fully capable nor particularly willing to keep fighting in the tournament. Even though a draw would be enough for the Serbs, we are backing another Crvena Zvezda win with a “draw no bet” (0 handicap).
Prediction for the match: Crvena Zvezda to win with 0.0 handicap.
