Preview: Lausanne Sport vs Sigma Olomouc - prediction, team news, lineups

On Thursday, Swiss outfit Lausanne Sport will welcome Sigma Olomouc to the Stade de la Tuiliere for the return leg of their Conference League knockout phase playoff clash.

The tie is finely poised ahead of the second leg after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic last week. 

Match preview

Lausanne are competing in the Conference League knockout phase playoffs after falling just a point short of the top eight. 

The Swiss outfit would still have been delighted to secure a ninth-place finish and a seeded spot for the playoffs after recording three victories, two draws, and one defeat from their six league phase matches. 

Peter Zeidler's side would have been content with a 1-1 draw from last week's first leg against Olomouc, even though they established a first-half lead through Nathan Butler-Oyedeji.

However, there will be concern about their overall form after their winless run stretched to seven competitive matches with a 2-1 defeat in Sunday's Swiss Super League clash against Lugano (D4, L3). 

That narrow loss leaves Lausanne down in ninth position in the Swiss Super League table and on course to compete in the relegation group when the league splits in two in April.

With European qualification effectively out of reach, Lausanne will be keen to continue their current journey in the Conference League, knowing that a last-16 meeting with AEK Larnaca or Mainz 05 awaits if they can see off Olomouc.

Lausanne can take confidence from the fact they have avoided defeat in all six of their Conference League home games this season (including qualifying). 

© Imago / Branislav Racko

Meanwhile, Olomouc are still competing in their first European campaign since being beaten by Real Madrid in the 1991-92 UEFA Cup quarter-finals. 

In contrast to Thursday's hosts, Olomouc just scraped through to the knockout phase playoffs following an unconvincing performance in the league phase. 

The Czech outfit finished in 24th place and above Universitatea Craiova on goals scored after winning two, drawing one and losing three of their six league phase matches.

Sigma failed to make full use of home advantage in the first leg of their playoff tie against Lausanne, with Tomas Janotka's side unable to build upon Danijel Sturm's 58th-minute equaliser. 

While they will now face a tough test away from home, Olomouc will at least enter the contest on the back of a 3-1 league win over Teplice.

Filip Slavicek, Mohamed Yasser and Ahmad Ghali all found the net in the first period of Sunday's Czech First League clash, with the commanding victory representing the club's first competitive away win since November.

That said, they would have been disappointed to miss out on a long-awaited away clean sheet, having now gone 16 consecutive away games without a shutout since July's 1-0 win over Slovacko.

Lausanne Sport Conference League form:

Lausanne Sport form (all competitions):

Sigma Olomouc Conference League form:

Sigma Olomouc form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago / Sports Press Photo

Lausanne are expected to be without forward Theo Bair, who has been sidelined since December with a knee injury. 

Midfielder Beyatt Lekoueiry will serve a one-match ban after collecting his third yellow card of the competition last week. 

Omar Janneh will offer one of the home side's main goal threats, having scored four times in eight games since he arrived from Atletico Madrid in the winter window.

As for the visitors, they are expected to be without Artur Dolznikov, Adam Urica and Jan Kral, while Sturm is a doubt after he sat out Sunday's league win over Teplice due to personal reasons.  

The attacking duo of Ahmad Ghali and Jan Kliment are hoping to shake off their respective injury issues in time for Thursday's fixture. 

Jakub Elbel, Dario Grgic, Jakub Jezierski, Louis Lurvink and Vaclav Sejk are among those who have been left out of the Conference League squad. 

Lausanne Sport possible starting lineup:

Letica; Soppy, Mouanga, Sow, Fofana; Custodio, Roche, Mollet, Diakite; Janneh, Butler-Oyedeji

Sigma Olomouc possible starting lineup:

Koutny; Hadas, Sylla, Maly, Slama; Beran, Rusek, Barath; Ghali, Sip, Kliment

We say: Lausanne Sport 2-1 Sigma Olomouc (Lausanne to win 3-2 on aggregate)

If the first leg is anything to go by, Thursday's clash in Switzerland will be a close-fought encounter. 

With fine margins likely to be the difference, we think home advantage could be decisive, especially as Lausanne have won four of their six Conference League home games this season. 

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.