Royale Union Saint-Gilloise will host Lugano at the Stade Joseph Marien on Thursday in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League playoff round clash.
The home side enjoyed a brilliant start to their Jupiler Pro League campaign, picking up wins over Anderlecht, Standard Liege and Leuven in their first three matches. However, they suffered a 4-0 hiding at the hands of Mechelen last time out, conceding three of those goals in the final 12 minutes of the game.
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise will be targeting a positive result this week as they push for back-to-back appearances in the Europa League group stages.
Lugano have also performed well in their domestic assignments this season and will be looking to carry that momentum onto the continental stage this week. They locked horns with Gunzwill in the last 64 of the Schweizer Cup last weekend, carrying out a 7-0 demolition of the amateur outfit featuring goals from six different players including a brace from former Wolfsburg man Renato Steffen.
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise vs Lugano Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Thursday’s game will mark the first-ever meeting between USG and Lugano.
- The midweek clash will see the home side face off against Swiss opposition and the visitors against Belgian opposition for the first time in a European competition.
- USG are without a clean sheet in their last two matches after managing seven in their previous eight outings.
- Lugano have scored at least one goal in 16 of their last 17 games across all competitions.
- The Bianconeri are the joint-highest-scoring side in the Swiss Super League this season with a goal tally of 10.
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise vs Lugano Prediction
USG’s latest result ended a five-game winning streak and they will be looking to bounce back this week. They have won their last two games at the Stade Joseph Marien and will aim to extend that streak on Thursday.
Lugano are on a run of back-to-back victories and have won five of their last six games across all competitions. They have had mixed results on the road of late and could see defeat against a stronger opponent this week.
Prediction: Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 2-0 Lugano
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise vs Lugano Betting Tips
Tip 1 – Result: Royale Union Saint-Gilloise to win
Tip 2 – Goals – Over/under 2.5 – Under 2.5 goals (Five of the hosts’ last seven matches have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 – Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of the visitors’ last five matches)