Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Bosuilstadion will host Thursday’s Conference League qualifier between Antwerp and Lillestrom. The Belgians aim to defend their two-goal lead in the return leg, and they are likely to adopt a cautious approach this time out. Winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha, who has been scoring goals for fun in the Jupiler League of late, will be the man to watch in the home team, while defender Bjorn Engels remains on the sidelines with a muscle injury.
Lillestrom, on the other hand, played out a 1-1 draw with Tromso in their last league match, and they are now on a quest to claim a major scalp in the Conference League third qualifying round. The Norwegians face an uphill task in the reverse fixture, and seeing that Antwerp are a real force to be reckoned with at home, we believe that there is a big value in betting on Radja Naingollan and Co. Defender Frederik Holst is injured for the visiting side.
Highlighted Player (Radja Nainggolan):
Born on 4 May 1988, Radja Nainggolan is a Belgian footballer who plays for AS Roma as a central midfielder. The combative midfielder failed to leave a mark on domestic stage, having left his first club Germinal Beerschot for Piacenza as a 17-year-old. Nainggolan soon started to prove his worth at senior level, earning a move to Cagliari in 2010.
He continued with impressive performances in Italian Serie A and eventually snubbed a number of top European sides to join AS Roma in 2014.The central midfielder enjoyed a very good start to his career at Stadio Olimpico, while also establishing himself as a first team regular in the Belgian national team, helping the Red Devils climb to first place in FIFA Rankings and also qualify for the Euro 2016 finals.
A highly skilled midfielder who does not shirk from defensive duties, Nainggolan is also famous for his fiery temperament that has seen him earn 2 red cards and over 70 yellow cards during the course of his career.