The Europa League hasn’t gone Bordeaux’s way this season. The French team has lost all three matches in Group C, conceding five goals and scoring a mere two. Bordeaux lost to Zenit Saint Petersburg on matchday 3, 2-1, in Russia.
They allowed Zenit to make a second half comeback for the win. Bordeaux still have a chance to earn progress to the round of 32. However, they must win the rest of their group matches to achieve it.
Zenit have tallied seven points from nine. Their only blemish was against Copenhagen on matchday 1 as the Danish team held Zenit to a 1-1 draw. Zenit have tallied the most goals in Group C with four, while conceding just twice.
Sergei Semak’s team showed they can come from behind to win on matchday 3, but he will hope his side can start better against Bordeaux this time around. Leading sportsbooks don’t have much separating the two clubs. The French side is in a do-or-die situation and need to get a win to have any hope of progression.
Bordeaux are winless in their last three Ligue 1 games. They have allowed four goals during that run while scoring just once. Bordeaux’s only point from their last nine came at the weekend against Lyon. The match ended 1-1 as Bordeaux take up space in the middle of the Ligue 1 table.
Zenit are dominating the Russian Premier League. They are seven points ahead of nearest rival Lokomotiv Moscow and have won two straight domestic matches. Artem Dzyuba leads the team with six goals in all competitions and Sebastian Driussi leads Zenit in assists with five. He is their main creative player and capable of unlocking Bordeaux’s defence.
In the teams’ previous meeting two weeks ago, Zenit controlled possession with a 54.8 percent rate. Despite holding a better possession percentage, Zenit were outshot by Bordeaux. The French team registered 16 shots with four on target while Zenit tallied nine shots and three on target. Zenit goalkeeper Andrey Lunev made three saves.
Zenit right-back Igor Smolnikov may miss out on Thursday’s match due to an injury he picked up in late October. Bordeaux are facing no serious injuries heading into the vital match in the competition.
Despite Bordeaux’s poor form thus far in the competition, they will finally get a point against Zenit. Playing at home and having performed well at times on matchday 3, Bordeaux will do enough to get a draw. Zenit will continue their stranglehold on Group C and march on toward qualification.