Crvena zvezda – Trabzonspor : Preview & Prediction
Having lost three of their four games so far in UEFA Europa League (UEL) Group H, Red Star Belgrade now face a win-or-bust scenario against Trabzonspor if they want to play European spring soccer in the UEL. There is also a consolation prize on offer which represents dropping to the UECL, but it might not even be up to them if Monaco do better than them. That said, you can take heart from the fact that Monaco will face Ferencváros.
Red Star should be confident that they will at least carry their push for a UEL Round of 16 spot into the final matchday, given that they have won ten of their last 16 European games in Belgrade (E4, P2). That good form has been replicated in Serbia’s SuperLiga, where Red Star find themselves on top after an unbeaten start (G13, E2) and, impressively, have not lost a home league clash since April 2017, which can perhaps be split on the daunting tunnel the away side must navigate through the cauldron of noise at the Rajko Mitić Stadium.
With some of the world’s fiercest soccer rivalries in Turkey, Trabzonspor may not be intimidated by what will be a raucous home crowd in Belgrade. That is perhaps until you look at Trabzonspor’s woeful away record in the UEL, having lost their last five away games in this competition and conceded an average of 2.4 goals per game in that span.
A 1-0 clean sheet win over Sivasspor at the weekend was a good warm-up for this mammoth clash, as Trabzonspor look to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to five games (G2, E2). The head-to-head tiebreaker criteria sees Trabzonspor enter this clash above Monaco and in second place, a spot that gives a berth in the UEL Round of 16, but with Ferencváros still within reach and a performance against the Hungarian side on the final day, extending their current unbeaten run with a win here would leave them with a chance to top the group next week.
Players to watch: Red Star can look to Aleksandar Pešić as the hero given that he has scored the decisive winning goal in the last four clashes in which he has found the back of the net for opponents. Meanwhile, Marek Hamšík opened the scoring for Trabzonspor at the weekend, just as he did in the previous meeting between these two sides.
Key stat: Turkish clubs have won all three of their UEL matches against Serbian teams.
Crvena zvezda – Trabzonspor : Betting Tips
Crvena zvezda – Win Odds: 2.25
