Date: July 30, 2014
Venue: Letzigrund – Zurich, Switzerland
Kick-off Time: 18:00 BST
The Grasshoppers will be hosting the French side Lille, this upcoming Wednesday and both sides will be looking to advance to the play-off round of the Champions League.
The hosts having never qualified for the group stages and hence will be looking create some sort of a history here. On the other hand, Lille will look be looking to make their sixth appearance in the group stage.
Having never faced each other in a competitive match, there may be a bit of circumspection in the attitudes of both teams, but once the early nerves are off, expect them to go at each other.
Grasshoppers’ Form
L- L
Having only played two competitive fixtures so far this seas, the team has looked uncomfortable on the pitch, suffering two defeats to begin their season in a horrid fashion. They will look to turn things around quickly against the French Side but things won’t get too easy on the pitch against a far more experienced team.
The Grasshoppers had their hearts broken by another French side last season, Olympique de Lyon, eliminating them in the third round Stage, and a change in fortunes is what they will hope for this year.
Lille’s Form
Friendlies
(L)-(L)
Having yet to play a competitive match, Les Dogues won’t have too much time to start off on the right foot. If friendlies are any parameter to form than Lille may be in trouble after suffering two defeats to lesser sides. They lacked fitness in those matches, and we’ll have to wait and see what type of preparation has been done to face The Hoppers.
Having missed the chance to compete in the Champions League last year, Lille will be hungry and determined to qualify for the play-offs but will need to shrug off their form issues.
Key Players and Team News
Grasshoppers: Munas Dabbur
Munas Dabbur will look to carry over his form, after banging in a double in their defeat vs Zurich, Dabbur looked lethal in front of goal, and the young Israeli will look to get on the scoresheet once again.
Grasshoppers will be without newly signed Nassim Ben Khalifa after he raptured his Cruciate Ligament.
Lille: Vincent Enyeama
Top-class keeper, with the ability to maintain clean sheets on his own, no doubt Lille’s most important player, will great Experience Enyeama will look to keep his team from receiving goals.
With the continuing speculation of young Belgian striker Origi making a move to Liverpool, he may be uneased about his future and may not be at his best against Grasshoppers.
Betting advice
Looking at a drawn game for which 888Sport are offering 23/10, don’t expect these odds to though so grab this price as soon as you can.
And if you are looking to watch the live streaming of this match online, all you need to do is to go to bet365 and either open your free account with them (with a one-time deposit) or log-in to your existing account and clicking on ‘Live Streaming’!