Slovan Bratislava vs LASK Linz Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Champions League

LASK Linz sit 24th in the Champions League league-phase table and need a home win on Tuesday to protect the last of the playoff places, and they get the visitors every side in this competition would pick for the job: Slovan Bratislava are 36th and last, pointless after three matches, with one goal scored and thirteen conceded.

The Matchup

LASK Linz are 24th in the league-phase table with three points from three matches, and their campaign has been loud in both directions. They lost 1-0 at AEK Athens, lost 6-3 at home to Liverpool in a game that swung wildly, and then won 3-2 away to Sporting CP, scoring six goals and conceding nine across the three matches.

Slovan Bratislava are 36th and last with no points at all. They lost 6-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, 3-0 at home to VfB Stuttgart and 4-0 at AS Roma, and their one goal in this competition, scored by Suleiman Camara, is still the only one they have managed.

Florian Flecker has two of LASK's six goals in this competition and Christoph Lang has one goal and a team-high six shots, and both are expected to start again after starting the 2-1 league win over WSG Swarovski Tirol on Saturday, when LASK lined up in a 5-3-2 with Lukas Jungwirth in goal and Robert Ljubicic, who has a goal and an assist in this competition, in midfield. Yvan Dibango has three assists in two appearances in this competition, the best creative return on either side.

Slovan's threat is thin by comparison. Camara has five shots to go with his goal, Tigran Barseghyan has their only assist, and goalkeeper Dominik Takac has already made 20 saves in three matches, a number that tells its own story about how much work Slovan's defense gives him. Neither club has named its side yet; Slovan are expected to keep the 4-1-4-1 they used at Roma, with Camara and Barseghyan wide and Nino Marcelli leading the line.

Key Factors

The case against LASK covering a handicap is their own defending, and it is not a small one. They have conceded in every match they have played in this competition, Liverpool put six past them in this stadium, and their only win, at Sporting CP, was a 3-2 shootout rather than a controlled performance.

Slovan do not need to become a good side to ruin a handicap bet. They need one goal, or another long night from Takac, whose 20 saves include the Roma match where he kept a 4-0 defeat from becoming something far worse, and a one-goal LASK win is a losing result at this line more often than it is a winning one.

What Slovan have never shown is a way to stop the pressure building. Thirteen goals conceded in three matches, at least three in every match, and the defeats have come in different shapes: overrun early in Paris, beaten at home by Stuttgart, and worn down in Rome.

LASK also come into this fresh in the way that matters, at home and three days after a domestic win, while Slovan have had two weeks since their last match in this competition and have to travel to Linz to face a side that knows a win keeps it inside the playoff places. A side that concedes three goals a night does not usually fix that on the road against a host that has to attack.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.