Preview: Czech Republic vs. Kuwait - prediction, team news, lineups

Czech Republic take a break from World Cup qualifying on Thursday by playing host to Kuwait in an international friendly.

While the home side are unbeaten in three matches, Kuwait have only one victory to their name in 11 outings.

Match preview

© Reuters

After failing to defeat Wales home or away, Czech Republic face a nervous wait over whether they will qualify for the World Cup qualifying playoffs.

Not holding out for a 2-1 victory last month could cost them dear, and their attention will be on Wales' home fixture with Belarus on Saturday.

For now, though, they prepare to face Kuwait, Jaroslav Silhavy's team looking to get another win on the board having prevailed in just three of their last nine matches.

Since losing out in the Euro 2020 quarter-finals, Czech Republic have only posted wins over Belarus, with Belgium and Ukraine also on the list of nations that they have failed to beat since the start of September.

The absence of Patrik Schick for their upcoming games is a major blow, responsibility now falling to Michael Krmencik and Matej Vydra who have just one international goal between them over the past 12 months.

Kuwait make the trip to Europe looking to gain experience over being too concerned over whether they win or lose in Olomouc.

To their credit, they only went down by a 1-0 scoreline in Bosnia-Herzegovina back in September, the hosts not netting their winning goal until midway through the second half.

They also fared relatively well during their World Cup qualification group which concluded earlier this year, the only two defeats coming against Australia.

These two nations have met on one previous occasion, Czech Republic prevailing by a 2-1 scoreline all the way back in 1995.

Team News

© Reuters

Tomas Soucek could be one of a number of Czech Republic regulars who start this contest among the replacements.

Jindrich Stanek, Tomas Kalas, Alex Kral and Jan Kuchta may all come into the team as they bid to earn a spot in the final qualifier.

Filip Panak may be provided with a debut in the middle of the defence, while David Pavelka is an option in midfield.

Boss Silhavy will not be able to take his place on the dugout after testing positive for coronavirus.

Kuwait will hope to name much of the team which featured on their last visit to Europe two months ago.

Czech Republic possible starting lineup:

Stanek; Kalas, Zima, Panak, Mateju; Sadilek, Kral; Pesek, Pavelka, Vydra; Kuchta

Kuwait possible starting lineup:

Al Rashidi; Al Dousari, Al Harbi, Al Reshidi, Al Fadhli, Al Qallaf; Al Rasheedi, Mohsin, Al Salama; Faleh; Al Mutawa

We say: Czech Republic 3-0 Kuwait

Despite Silhavy most likely selecting a mix-and-match side, this should still be one-way traffic. Despite their spirited effort at Bosnia-Herzegovina, we expect Kuwait to lose by a wider margin this time around.