Slavia Prague will aim to maintain their 100% record in 2023-24 when Dnipro-1 visit Fortuna Arena in the third round of Europa League qualifying on Thursday.
The Czech side have won each of their opening three league matches this season, while the Ukrainian outfit kicked off their domestic campaign with a victory last weekend.
Match preview
© Reuters
It is safe to say that Slavia Prague could not have wished for a better start to the new season, as the Red and Whites find themselves joint-top of the Czech Liga after securing three consecutive wins.
Following a 2-0 victory over Hradec Kralove on the opening weekend, Jindrich Trpisovsky's men claimed a 3-1 win against Ceske Budejovice before notching a 2-1 victory over Zlin last time out, with Dutch striker Mick van Buren scoring his second goal of the campaign.
It is also worth noting that Slavia Prague enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season, securing successive wins against Rakow, Maccabi Haifa, Podbrezova and Queens Park Rangers before drawing with Dynamo Dresden.
Thanks to a strong end to the previous campaign, the Slavists have suffered a solitary defeat in their last 23 matches across all competitions, including friendlies, so Trpisovsky's men will be confident of reaching the Europa League proper.
© Reuters
Dnipro-1, meanwhile, claimed a 2-1 victory over Polissya Zhytomyr in their opening game of the 2023-24 Ukrainian Premier League season, with Ruslan Babenko's 91st-minute winner cancelling out Denis Yanakov's 87th-minute equaliser.
After finishing second in the Ukrainian Premier League last term – five points behind perennial champions Shakhtar Donetsk – Dnipro-1 started the new season in the second qualifying round for the Champions League.
However, Oleksandr Kucher's side ended up suffering a 5-3 aggregate defeat to Greek club Panathinaikos, losing 3-1 at home before drawing 2-2 in Athens to drop into Europa League qualification.
Having reached the knockout phase of last season's Europa Conference League – taking 10 points from a possible 18 before falling to AEK Larnaca in the playoffs, Dnipro-1 will be eager to make their mark on the European stage once again.
- W
- W
- W
- L
- D
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Slavia Prague are still without long-term injury absentee David Pech as he continues to recover from a cruciate ligament rupture, while David Doudera is expected to miss the first leg after picking up a muscle injury in the victory over Ceske Budejovice.
New signing Mojmir Chytil has already chalked up two goals and one assist in the Czech Liga this term, despite coming off the bench in each of the opening three matches.
On the flip side, Dnipro's injury list contains goalkeeper Yevgen Volynets and left-back Yanis Hamache, while midfielder Volodymyr Tanchyk is suspended after picking up a red card in the second leg against Panathinaikos.
Oleksandr Kucher is expected to stick with his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation on Thursday, with Denys Miroshnichenko, Oleksandr Pikhalyonok and Valentin Rubchynskyi lining up behind new arrival Maksym Tretyakov.
Slavia Prague possible starting lineup:
Kolar; Vlcek, Ogbu, Holes; Schranz, Zafeiris, Dorley, Provod; Jurecka, Van Buren, Lingr
Dnipro-1 possible starting lineup:
Kinareykin; Pasich, Adamyuk, Sarapiy, Kapliyenko; Babenko, Blanco; Miroshnichenko, Pikhalyonok, Rubchynskyi; Tretyakov
We say: Slavia Prague 2-0 Dnipro-1
Having started the new season in eye-catching form, Slavia Prague look set to gain a healthy first-leg lead over Dnipro-1, who will likely struggle to deal with the Reds and Whites' attacking approach on home soil.
No Data Analysis info
Top tip
Ben Morris
