Czech Republic welcome Belarus to the Mestsky Stadion on Thursday evening for the fourth match of their World Cup qualifying campaign in Group E.
The hosts are aiming to qualify for their first World Cup since 2006, while the visitors have never competed in a major tournament since securing independence in 1991.
Match preview
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Jaroslav Silhavy's Czech Republic side return to international action this week for the first time since they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage of Euro 2020.
The Czechs surprised many during this summer's tournament, in which they sneaked through from Group D as one of the four best third-placed teams, before securing an impressive 2-0 victory over the Netherlands in the last 16. Their Euros campaign, however, eventually came to an end when they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Denmark.
Silhavy can be proud of the efforts put in by his players on Europe's biggest stage, and will now be hoping for similar success during their World Cup qualifiers this month.
As the Czech Republic are joined in Group E by the world's number-one-ranked side Belgium, they along with Wales are set to battle each other for second place. A narrow 1-0 defeat to the Welsh, however, has made their task slightly more challenging.
The Czechs should be confident of bouncing back with all three points on Thursday, as they face a Belarus side who they have beaten in all of their five previous meetings, scoring at least twice on each occasion.
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Belarus have had a contrasting start to their World Cup qualification campaign, with one impressive win and one disastrous defeat.
A 4-2 victory in their first game against Estonia was followed by an 8-0 demolition at the hands of Belgium, the heaviest defeat in their history.
Georgi Kondratiev's side currently sit fourth in Group E, level on points with Wales in third and just one point behind Thursday's opponents the Czech Republic.
If Belarus are to cause an upset and finish in the top two of their group, then claiming points against the Czechs – something they have never achieved before – is crucial.
Success for the White Wings – who are ranked 58 places below their midweek opponents – is unlikely, though Kondratiev will be hoping they can at least put up more of a fight than they did against Belgium.
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Team News
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Silhavy may decide to stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation, a system which the Czechs used throughout their Euro 2020 campaign.
Central midfielders Tomas Soucek and Tomas Holes, who both played in the last competitive match against Denmark, are expected to start, though there will be changes made further forward.
Euro 2020's joint-top goalscorer Patrik Schick is suspended, while wingers Petr Sevcik and Lukas Masopust have not been selected in the 20-man squad. Striker Adam Hlozek as well as wingers Jakub Jankto and Jakub Pesek are the most likely trio to come into the starting lineup as a result.
As for Belarus, Kondratiev has named a relatively inexperienced 24-man squad, with striker Maksim Skavysh the most capped player with 28 international appearances.
The 31-year-old is set to partner Lokomotiv Moscow forward Vitali Lisakovich in attack, with Vladislav Klimovich expected to start just behind the front two in the number 10 role.
Goalkeeper Pavel Pavlyuchenko was handed a start in the last international friendly against Azerbaijan, but he will likely drop to the bench on Thursday and be replaced by Syarhey Chernik.
Czech Republic possible starting lineup:
Vaclik; Coufal, Brabec, Kalas, Boril; Holes, Soucek; Jankto, Barak, Pesek; Hlozek
Belarus possible starting lineup:
Chernik; Yuzepchuk, Khadarkevich, Pavlovets, Zolotov; Korzun; Bykov, Ebong; Klimovich; Skavysh, Lisakovich
We say: Czech Republic 2-0 Belarus
Belarus will be aiming to frustrate the Czech Republic on Thursday, but if they defend anything like the way they did against Belgium then the hosts should have no problems in claiming all three points.
Despite the absence of Patrik Schick in attack, the Czechs still have enough quality in the final third to secure a routine win on home soil.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Czech Republic win with a probability of 54.54%. A draw had a probability of 22.8% and a win for Belarus had a probability of 22.66%.
The most likely scoreline for a Czech Republic win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.68%) and 2-0 (8.9%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.69%), while for a Belarus win it was 1-2 (5.91%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 9.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Czech Republic would win this match.
