LASK Linz V Club Brugge Betting Tips: Both Teams to Score – 20 August 2019

LASK and Club Brugge to maintain scoring trends

Champions League Tips

LASK Linz V Club Brugge

Tuesday 20th August 2019 – 20:00 Kick-Off
UEFA Champions League
Pick: Both Teams to Score
Odds: 37/50
Bookmaker: MarathonBet

1 X 2
27/20 9/4 19/10

* (All betting odds displayed were correct as of 19th August 2019 at 00:10)

Preview: Fresh after claiming some big scalps in the previous round, LASK Linz and Club Brugge meet for the first of two matches with a spot in the group stage of the upcoming Champions League the prize on offer for the victor. This opening leg will be staged in Austria, at LASK Linz’s Waldstadion.

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LASK Linz Preview – Austrians targeting fourth consecutive home win in Europe?

One more round. Just one more round is all that stands between last season’s runners-up in the Austrian Bundesliga and seeing their name in the draw for the group stage of the Champions League for the very first time. In fact, this would be the club’s first appearance in any group stage of a UEFA competition since the 1996 Intertoto Cup. Successful qualification, therefore, would be a monumental achievement.

In their way are Belgian side Club Brugge, a club boasting a considerable amount of experience when it comes to competing in Europe. The same could be said of FC Basel of Switzerland, the side LASK Linz eliminated in the previous round following a highly impressive 5-2 aggregate victory, coming out on top in both legs after a hard-fought 2-1 victory in Switzerland was backed up by a commanding performance in Austria to win 3-1.

That latter outcome means Linz still maintain a 100% record at home in these qualifying rounds for either the Champions League or Europa League, having recorded wins on home soil in the latter competition over Norwegian side Lillestrom (4-0) and Turkish giants Besiktas (2-1) in 2018/19. Prior to this the club had not played a single match in Europe since the turn of millennium, which makes their results in the past couple campaigns all the more remarkable.

However, the one downside – and it is fairly minor – would be LASK relinquishing some of their recent winning momentum at the weekend, when they failed to win a competitive fixture for the very first time this season after drawing 1-1 at home to WSG Wattens. The team were previously enjoying a six game winning run in all competitions.

LASK Linz & Both Teams to Score
15/4

Bet365

 

Club Brugge Preview – Vast European experience to ensure Belgians avoid defeat?

A former finalist and with no fewer than six previous group stage appearances to their name, the last of which coming in last season’s competition, Club Brugge are a club whose record in Europe is unrivalled back in Belgium. Their opponents, though, have already claimed one notable scalp in these qualifying rounds, taking out an FC Basel side which possessed a not too dissimilar profile on the continent to their own.

Certainly, the vast amounts of experience and nous collected through the years came to the fore in the previous round for Club Brugge, helping them to overcome a spirited Dynamo Kiev and win a thrilling affair 4-3 on aggregate. The away meeting in particular was interesting, to put it mildly, as despite falling behind on three separate occasions in the Ukrainian capital, the Belgian side responded every single time to draw level and maintain their slender lead in the tie.

Those three goals in Kiev were only the second occasion Club FCB have conceded since their season got underway at the end of July. Their four clean sheets from six competitive matches to date serves to highlight how resolute the Belgians tend to be under manager Philippe Clement. Both games in which they did ship goals were away from home though, and while the sample size is small this could mean they are more susceptible in this opening leg out in Austria.

Furthermore, the team suffered an almost identical fate to their Austria opponents at the weekend – a 0-0 draw at home to Eupen putting an end to their previously flawless league campaign. Club Brugge do, however, remain the early pacesetters in Belgium and that, coupled with those valiant endeavours in the last round, should stand them in good stead ahead of an awkward trip in Europe.

 

LASK Linz V Club Brugge Key Facts:

  • LASK Linz had won six games in a row in all competitions prior to a 1-1 draw at home to WSG Wattens at the weekend.
  • Club Brugge are bidding to reach the Champions League group stage for the second season running.
  • Previous Round: LASK Linz overcame FC Basel 5-2 on aggregate and 3-1 at home. Club Brugge overcame Dynamo Kiev 4-3 on aggregate and drawing 3-3 away.

 

 

Betting Summary

How can we not be impressed by the manner in which FC Basel were swatted aside in the previous round? For a team possessing very little European experience, that was a huge victory, with the 3-1 scoreline they managed to record in Austria particularly impressive. This past weekend, however, did see them held to a 1-1 home draw in the Austria Bundesliga, ending a six match winning streak in all competitions prior to that.

Similar to their opponents, Club Brugge also came unstuck at the weekend to also drop their first league points of the current season. While they cannot boast a 100% record record in the previous round such as their opponents, having won 1-0 at home but drawing the away encounter 3-3, the resilience displayed away to Dynamo Kiev last time out merits so much respect and shows they are highly unlikely to go down without a fight.

As impressive as some of their defensive numbers have been so far this season, both LASK Linz and Club Brugge have seen their respective defences breached on more than one occasion in Europe. LASK notched three goals at home to Basel in the last round while Club Brugge managed three of their own away in Kiev. I suspect the goalscoring trend may continue here.