Slavia Prague vs Chelsea Predictions

Facing Chelsea won’t be an easy task, though Slavia, who sent recent three-time champions Sevilla packing in the last round, have already proven that they’re not a side to take lightly. Trips to eastern Europe are rarely straightforward, so the hosts will be confident of getting a good result in this first leg.

Given the rest of the teams in the final eight, it’s probably fair to say that Slavia have been the surprise package of the competition. The Czech side have been tough to face right from the word go; they got the better of teams such as Bordeaux, Copenhagen and Zenit during the groups, while they had too much in the locker for one of Belgium’s premier sides in the last-32. Most impressively, Jindřich Trpišovský’s men got the better of Sevilla in the previous round and showed everyone that they’re no mugs going forward, as they scored six goals across two legs.

Slavia have impressed all round, but their efforts on home soil have been particularly eye-catching. They offered lots going forward when scoring four goals and clocking 2.75 expected goals for at home against Sevilla in the previous round, while they dominated Genk at this venue prior to that, as they recorded 2.49 expected goals for and conceded just 0.78.

Not only have Thursday’s hosts offered plenty in terms of both creativity and end-product at home, but they’ve also done a decent job of defending, as they’ve surrendered an average of 0.6 goals and just 0.58 expected goals for. The second of those numbers suggests that teams have found it tough to create at Sinobo Stadium.

Unfortunately, the hosts are up against a Chelsea side that can be tough to stop, as many teams in this competition have already found out. Even on the road, Maurizio Sarri’s men have looked strong offensively, as they’ve scored an average of 2.2 goals, while they’re averaging 1.91 expected goals for. The fact that they scored five goals away against Dynamo Kiev in the previous round suggests that they could cause Slavia plenty of problems on Thursday. After all, despite going out, Sevilla managed to score twice at Sinobo Stadium.

While they’ve impressed going forward, Thursday’s visitors have been far from infallible on the road in this competition. Both Malmo and Vidi managed to find the net against Sarri’s side, so the useful forward-line of Slavia is unlikely to go without chances.

When we consider that both Slavia and Chelsea have looked strong going forward, ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’ is not tough to make a case for, especially at the prices. As the hosts average 1.59 expected goals for at home and as the visitors average 1.91 on the road, not to mention the fact that there’s been a combined 3.6 goals scored in their respective home and away UEL games, getting behind a high-scoring encounter represents a slice of value.