Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Conference League match.
For both teams, reaching the quarter-finals of a European competition would be a significant achievement. Although bookmakers favour Lugano, both teams appear evenly matched in the first leg.
Celje
Home advantage is likely to benefit Celje. The Slovenian team is unlikely to replicate last season’s success, as they trail league leaders Olimpija Ljubljana by 16 points. Their most recent match worsened their situation, with Celje suffering a 0:2 defeat to Olimpija Ljubljana. Nevertheless, they have already achieved their first goal in the Conference League by advancing past APOEL in the knockout round (2:2, 2:0).
Lugano
Unlike their opponents, Lugano could improve upon last season’s achievement of finishing second in the Swiss Super League. They are currently three points behind league leaders Basel with seven rounds remaining. However, recent results have undermined their position, with defeats to Young Boys (0:1) and Zürich (0:3) in the last two rounds. In addition, Lugano were unexpectedly eliminated from the Swiss Cup quarter-finals by Biel-Bienne (0:2).
Celje vs Lugano Prediction
It is evident that the Swiss team is not currently in the form to be backed unconditionally. We prefer a double chance for the hosts.
