It is a battle of Switzerland and the Czech Republic at Stade de Geneve on Thursday night, as Servette face off against Viktoria Plzen in the round of 16 of the Europa Conference League.
Les Grenats are enjoying a wonderful run of form domestically ahead of this clash, and the same can be said for Viktoria at the start of the new calendar year.
Match preview
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Since their most-recent foray onto the continental stage at the end of February, Servette have recorded two-straight Swiss Super League victories that have allowed them to maintain their hopes of earning only a second-ever domestic crown, beating St Gallen on Saturday afternoon.
Surprisingly, the visitors at Stade de Geneve on the weekend enjoyed more of the possession, but Les Grenats created the vast majority of the clear-cut chances, with goals either side of the half-time break from Timothe Cognat and Jeremy Guillemenot securing a 2-0 win in front of their own supporters.
Following a run of three successive wins in the Super League - including one over title rivals Young Boys, Rene Weiler's men remain in second place, just a single point behind the league leaders as the domestic campaign reaches its business end.
On the European stage, Servette battle through a cagey two-legged affair against Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets Razgrad to get to the round-of-16 stage, with a solitary Cognat strike in the second leg enough to take the Swiss side closer to a first-ever European crown.
Sitting 12 points behind league leaders Sparta Prague in their domestic division, Viktoria Plzen will have their full focus on earning silverware in the Conference League during the remainder of the term following a flawless record in the group stage of the competition earlier in the season.
The Czech side won six out of six matches as they cantered to top spot in Group C, doing the double over Dinamo Zagreb in the process, as well as Astana and Ballkani, finding the net on nine occasions and conceding just once.
Miroslav Koubek come into this round-of-16 clash in scintillating form after four-straight wins domestically, with Plzen coming out on top of a five-goal thriller against relegation-threatened Pardubice on Saturday, when 23-year-old Pavel Sulc netted a brace for the visitors.
After being the whipping boys in the Champions League over recent years, Plzen will be relishing the opportunity to be considered as one of the remaining favourites in the Conference League as they strive for a last-eight place in the first half of March.
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Team News
Servette are expected to be without the services of midfielder David Douline, who has not featured for the club since November due to a muscle injury.
Les Grenats are set to keep the same centre-back pairing which kept a clean sheet in the league on the weekend, so Steve Rouiller will continue to partner Dylan Bronn.
Netting six goals in 11 league appearances for Viktoria, Rafiu Durosinmi has been a key player for the visitors this season but could miss Thursday's clash.
Plzen have been without the talents of left-back Milan Havel for the entirety of the campaign due to a serious Achilles injury, whilst Cheick Souare is not included in the visitors' European squad, meaning that Jan Sykora should come in on the left side of the defence.
After collecting three yellow cards in earlier stages of the Conference League in the lead up to this last-16 clash, Sulc will be unable to feature on Thursday night, so former Watford marksman Matej Vydra should enter the XI.
Servette possible starting lineup:
Mall; Tsunemoto, Roullier, Bronn, Mazikou; Stevanovic, Ondoua, Cognat, Kutesa; Antunes; Crivelli
Viktoria Plzen possible starting lineup:
Jedlicka; Dweh, Hranac, Jemelka; Kopic, Cerv, Kalvach, Sykora; Vydra, Mosquera, Chory
We say: Servette 1-3 Viktoria Plzen
Still fighting valiantly on three fronts with a small squad, Servette will find it hard to progress past their Czech opponents in this two-legged affair.
Viktoria have experience of more high-profile European nights and their knowhow should come in handy as the pressure intensifies in the knockout stages of the Conference League.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
