Viktoria Plzen - Servette predictions and free betting tips [14/03/2024]

The second leg of the round of 16 of UEFA Conference League is about to kick off. Naturally, we will scrutinise all the matches in this round of the tournament, which is the third most illustrious club competition in Europe. We start with the clash between Viktoria Plzen and Servette. The first leg of this duel ended goalless in Switzerland. Let's see what the second leg, which will take place at Doosan Arena in the Czech Republic, has in store for us. But, one thing's for sure: a goalless draw should not be expected again. So, let's delve into the squad members of both teams and then hypothesise who's the favourite for the quarter-final pass, and what stake ideally fits this match.

Viktoria Plzen

In the Czech First League, Viktoria Plzen seems to be heading towards the playoffs where the main battles for European places will be fought. However, in the regular league, the efforts must be ongoing to catch up with the Prague competitors who are engaged in the Europa League playoffs. Those goalless against Servette seemed somewhat unreliable for the Czechs. Viktoriya Plzen's attack did not create anything sensible and there were failures in defence, as Rene Weiler's players did not stand still but tried to carry out speed-outs, controlling the ball better than the "red-blues", creating several decent moments near Martin Jedlicka's goal.

However, after this modest game, Viktoria Plzen easily outplayed Sparta Prague with a 4:0 score, who arrived at Doosan Arena in a bad mood after a 1:5 loss to Liverpool. Miroslav Koubek's team's player, Tomas Hora, scored a brace in the last round while Sheikh Suare, who has recently moved to Viktoria, was efficient.

The squad available to Koubek is very good. Pavle Schulz is the top scorer of the Czech First League, managing to score 14 goals in 21 matches. However, the young forward did not play in the first leg against Servette due to disqualification. Tomas Hora also has decent statistics, playing well in defence. Lukasz Kalvah deserves praise too. He is very important for Viktoria Plzen and capable of playing almost any role. Brazilian Kadu is doing well in Plzen - Erik Jirka and Rafiu Durojimi are effective, but both players are currently injured and will not play against Servette.

Viktoria Plzen has a superb squad that is interchangeable, so compared to the Swiss team, we ought to see a good quality match, especially on home ground.

Servette

Weiler's team failed to outclass their group mates in the Europa League, but in a lower-ranked tournament, they can compete confidently and hope to win confrontations. In the Swiss Championship, Servette ranks second, trailing only Young Boys. After the goalless game with Viktoria Plzen, Rene Weiler's team effortlessly surpassed Lausanne 3:1 and could have scored more goals. Enzo Kyeveli scored twice in that match, with one of the goals from a penalty kick.

Weiler has a broad selection of players. Even the transfer of top scorer Chris Bedi to Union Berlin did not impact Servette's attacking power, as there is Kyeveli and Giommeno who work fine in combination. Midfielder Derek Kutesa is good – the Swiss team's flanks are always effective: Bendeguz Bola has a goal-pass (5 4) system, and Bradley Maziku plays on the left. Although he did not start against Viktoria Plzen, he did against Lausanne. Timothe Kone is one of Servette's indispensable players, and he is also efficient in his role as a central defender.

Weiler has a fine squad that is no worse than Viktoria Plzen's. I'm not sure what strategy Servette's coach has devised, but one thing is clear: defence-oriented play should be avoided. Otherwise, the Czechs will take over the initiative and space on their home turf – the psychological advantage is with Miroslav Koubek's team, as the game will take place in the Czech Republic, where the crowd can properly support their beloved players.

Head-to-Head

The first game was modest and can be considered as a failure for Servette, whom could have even won 1:0 against Viktoria Plzen in that game.

Match prediction: Viktoria Plzen - Servette

Both teams possess fairly interesting attacks that can score when needed. I'm going for the option "both will score", they may again draw, for example, 1:1.