Czech Republic will kickstart their preparations for this summer's European Championship with a friendly against Malta in Austria on Friday night.
Ivan Hasek's side are building towards their Euro 2024 opener against Portugal on June 18, while Malta will return to competitive action in the UEFA Nations League at the start of September.
Match preview
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Hasek has made the perfect start to his second spell in charge of the Czech Republic, boasting friendly wins over Norway and Armenia since being appointed head coach earlier this year.
Czech Republic beat Armenia 2-1 in their last fixture at the end of March, and the national side will now take on Malta and North Macedonia in friendlies before their Euro 2024 opener against Portugal on June 18.
Hasek's team will also tackle Georgia and Turkey in what is shaping up to be an interesting Group F, and they will be expecting to challenge Turkey for second spot in the group, with Portugal the clear favourites.
Czech Republic finished second in their qualification group for this summer's tournament, and they have reached the quarter-finals in two of their last three participations in the finals of a European Championship, in addition to making the semi-finals back in 2004.
This will be the 11th time that Czech Republic have taken on Malta in international football, and they have won eight of the previous 10 meetings, remaining unbeaten in the process.
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Malta have never qualified for the finals of a major tournament, and the national side will also not be present at this summer's European Championship, losing all eight of their qualification fixtures for the competition.
Michele Marcolini's side were last in competitive action in November 2023, losing 2-0 to England in their final Euro 2024 qualifier, but they have since drawn with Slovenia and Belarus in friendlies.
Malta will also take on Greece in a friendly on June 11, with their return to competitive action then coming against Moldova in the UEFA Nations League at the start of September.
The national side have lost each of their last five games against Czech Republic, including a 6-0 defeat when the two teams last locked horns in a friendly back in May 2016.
Malta are on a run of three straight defeats away from their own country, but they did record a 1-0 victory over Luxembourg last June in one of just two friendly wins since October 2020.
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Team News
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There will be plenty of familiar faces in the Czech Republic squad for this match, and head coach Hasek is also expected to hand a number of players opportunities to impress.
West Ham United duo Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek are both likely to be in the XI, while Bayer Leverkusen duo Patrik Schick and Adam Hlozek could feature in the final third of the field.
Schick is the leading goalscorer in the squad with 18 goals, and the 28-year-old scored 13 times in 33 appearances for the Bundesliga champions during the 2023-24 campaign.
As for Malta, Kyrian Nwoko has scored four times for his country, and the 26-year-old is expected to feature in the final third of the field on Friday night.
Steve Borg, 36, is the captain, and the centre-back is in line to earn his 78th cap, while there should also be a start at the back for 34-year-old Enrico Pepe.
Matthew Guillaumier is likely to feature in midfield for the visitors, while Yannick Yankam, who plays his club football in the United States, should also be in the XI.
Czech Republic possible starting lineup:
Stanek; Holes, Hranac, Krejci; Coufal, Soucek, Sadilek, Jurasek; Barak; Schick, Hlozek
Malta possible starting lineup:
Bonello; Attard, S Borg, Pepe, J Borg; Guillaumier, Yankam, Pisani; J Mbong, P Mbong, Nwoko
We say: Czech Republic 2-0 Malta
Malta are capable of making this a competitive match, which is what Czech Republic will want at this stage of their preparations for Euro 2024. However, we are expecting Hasek's team to record a victory in their first of two warm-up fixtures for the European Championship,
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
