Lillestrom SK vs Royal Antwerp Match Analysis and Prediction

Lillestrom SK and Royal Antwerp will have an ecounter at the Arasen Stadion on Thursday as they will be looking to take a step in the right direction towards continuing their Europa Conference League qualifying journey.

The hosts managed to see of the threat of SJK courtesy of a 6-2 aggregate victory in the previous round of the qualifiers, while Royal Antwerp defeated Drita 2-0.

Lillestrom made it four wins on the bounce across all competitions following a 2-0 victory over Sarpsborg 08 at the Sarpsborg Stadion at the weekend.

The Canaries were in command for the majority of the contest but had to wait until the final 15 minutes to break the deadlock as late strikes from Andre Helland and Holmbert Aron Fridjonsson helped their side to come on top.

Having picked up nine of the last 12 points available, Geir Bakke’s side sit second in the Eliteserien table, three points adrift of current league leaders Molde although with a game in hand.

They now will aim to secure a first-leg advantage in their bid to make it through to the group stages of the second-ever edition of the Europa Conference League.

Meanwhile, Royal Antwerp defeated Zulte Waregem 1-0 at the Bosuilstadion on Sunday to maintain their ideal start to the 2022-23 Jupiler Pro League campaign.

The Reds opened the scoring midway through the second half courtesy of Michel-Ange Balikwisha, with his goal proving to be the decisive on the day.

With six points from a possible six, Mark van Bommel’s side are in second place in the league table, behind Leuven only on goal difference.

Currently on a four-game winning streak on the road which has brought an aggregate score of 7-1, Royal Antwerp make the trip to Belgium with an upper hand to come out on top.

Lillestrom SK vs Royal Antwerp head to head

The two teams have not previously met in any competition and this will be their first meeting in the first leg of Europa Conference League third round qualifying tie.

Lillestrom SK latest home form

Lillestrom have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just two of their five most recent matches. They defeated SJK 5-2 in their last home game in the Europa Conference League. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded five.

Lillestrom 0-1 HamKam 12/06/22

Lillestrom 3-1 Rosenborg 19/06/22

Lillestrom 1-0 Aalesund 29/06/22

Lillestrom 0-1 Viking 10/07/22

Lillestrom 5-2 SJK 28/07/22

Lillestrom SK latest away form

Lillestrom have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having won each of their four most recent matches. They managed to defeat Sarpsborg 08 2-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded five.

Stromgodset 3-0 Lillestrom 26/06/22

Kristiansund 1-3 Lillestrom 03/07/22

Odd 1-2 Lillestrom 17/07/22

SJK 0-1 Lillestrom 21/07/22

Sarpsborg 08 0-2 Lillestrom 31/07/22

Royal Antwerp latest home form

Royal Antwerp have recenty been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their four most recent matches. They managed to defeat Zulte Waregem 1-0 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded just four.

Antwerp 1-3 Club Brugge 15/05/22

Antwerp 9-0 Hoogstraten 25/06/22

Antwerp 2-1 Dinamo Kiev 15/07/22

Antwerp 0-0 Drita 21/07/22

Antwerp 1-0 Zulte Waregem 31/07/22

Royal Antwerp latest away form

Royal Antwerp have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having won each of their four most recent matches. They defeated Drita 2-0 in their last away game in the Europa Conference League. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and conceded three.

Anderlecht 2-1 Antwerp 12/05/22

Union Saint-Gilloise 0-1 Antwerp 22/05/22

Salzburg 1-2 Antwerp 09/07/22

Mechelen 0-2 Antwerp 24/07/22

Drita 0-2 Antwerp 28/07/22

Lillestrom SK news

Having scored six goals in his last seven appearances for Lillestrom, Holmbert Aron Fridjonsson is expected to return to the starting XI here after coming off the bench last time out.

Akor Adams is likely to give way for Fridjonsson in the lineup as he was forced off with an injury against Sarpsborg.

Royal Antwerp news

Michel-Ange Balikwisha will be looking to score for a third game in a row for Royal Antwerp off the back of a 10-game drought prior to that.

Manuel Benson was absent from the visitor’s last game and it remains to be seen whether the 25-year-old will be fit enough to feature on Thursday.

Prediction and Odds

Both teams head into the contest on an impressive run of results which will give them much confidence of coming out on top in the first leg.

We are expecting a tightly-contested affair with goals likely coming at both ends, but we expect Royal Antwerp to have enough to edge out Lillestrom.

Odds: 1 2.28 X 2.05 2 2.16

Probable outcomes

Lillestrom 1-2 Royal Antwerp

Lillestrom 1-3 Royal Antwerp

Lillestrom 2-3 Royal Antwerp

Lillestrom 1-1 Royal Antwerp

Lillestrom 2-2 Royal Antwerp