Following their varied routes through the third qualifying round, Lille and Slavia Prague face off in the Champions League playoffs, starting with the first leg.

With a one-goal advantage from the first leg in France, Lille faced Turkish giants Fenerbahce at Sukru Saracoglu Stadium last week and advanced to the Champions League playoffs after a dramatic extra-time victory. Jonathan David’s 118th-minute goal secured a 3-2 aggregate win, earning Lille a spot in the playoffs.

Having narrowly missed out on automatic qualification for the Champions League last season by conceding a late equalizer, Lille is now close to reaching the group stage for the first time in three years. After Paulo Fonseca left for AC Milan, Bruno Genesio now leads the team in their quest to return to Europe’s top competition. 

Slavia Prague, on the other hand, enters this tie with renewed confidence. They impressed in Europe last year and finished just behind Sparta Prague in the Czech title race. They secured their place in the Champions League qualifiers by winning their third-round tie against Union Saint-Gilloise with a 4-1 aggregate score. 

Despite a slow start to their domestic campaign with a 0-0 draw, Slavia has since won four consecutive matches, closing the gap to Sparta in the league. Last year, they topped their Europa League group but were eliminated by AC Milan in the last 16. Now, they are determined to reach the Champions League group stage.

Prediction:  Lille 1-0 Slavia Prague

Lille vs Slavia Prague stream and TV listing

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