Slavia Sofia – Ilves Prediction & Picks (19.07.2018)

Slavia Sofia and Ilves meet at Stadion Vasil Levski, in a return match of this stage of the UEFA Europa League (1st Qualifying Round), after in the first leg Slavia Sofía won by (0-1). the Ilves presents considerable differences in their results at home and as a visitor, so in this game the home factor may be decisive.

Slavia Sofia:

After the away win by (0-1), the home team comes to this second leg with a 1 goal advantage. This is a team that usually maintains its competitive levels in home and away matches, since in the last 30 matches they register 5 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses in away matches; against 6 wins, 6 draws and 3 losses at their stadium. In the last 10 home matches Slavia Sofia has won 5, tied 3 and lost 2. Defensive consistency has not been their best feature, as they have conceded goals in 7 of the last 10 matches, but their offense has scored regularly, since he scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches.

The Slavia Sofia comes to this game with a victory in the field of Ilves, by 0-1, taking an important step in these qualifiers of the Europa League: Tsvanov scored the only goal of the match. In this home game the Slavia Sofia line-up should play in 4-2-3-1, benefiting possession of the ball and organized attacks, looking in most cases for striker Angelov: this player is very powerful and strong in the completion. However, we emphasize that the landlords present some weaknesses in the defensive organization. For this game coach Zlatomir Zagorcic can count on all his players.

Ilves:

After the defeat at home, the visiting team comes to this second leg with a disvalue of 1 goal and with the difficult task of recovering this negative result as a visitor. This is a team that usually makes good use of the home advantage, stronger with the help of its supporters, since in the last 30 matches they register 5 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses in away matches; against 8 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss at their stadium. In the last 10 matches played as a visitor for all competitions, Ilves won 3, drew 1 and lost 6. In 15 games, he only had 1 comeback in the 5 games in which he suffered the first goal. In the last 20 home matches for all competitions there is 1 period that stands out: they have suffered 9 of their 25 goals between minutes (76′-90 ‘).

The Ilves part for this game with a snub at home against Slavia Sofia, by 0-1, thus adding the third official game without tasting the taste of victory. In this game away from home coach Jarkko Wiss should take the field to a more direct strategy, looking for a counterattack to take advantage of the space in the back of the opponent’s defense: Tamminen can be important in this type of transition. It is important to note that Marius Noubissi is the best scorer of Ilves in the current Finnish championship, with 6 goals scored. Apparently, visitors can not count on Mensah, due to an injury.