Seeking to bounce back from a demoralising 2-0 defeat in the first leg, Slavia Prague welcome Ferencvaros to the Sinobo Stadium on Tuesday for the second leg of their Champions League third qualifying round tie.
The Hungarian powerhouses, meanwhile, boast a healthy lead in the tie thanks to an own goal from Taras Kacharaba and Ihor Kharatin's penalty in last Wednesday's battle.
Match preview
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With the risk of their Champions League campaign being over before it has even begun, Slavia Prague must seek to harness all of their home dominance for the past 12 months as they go in search of goals in Tuesday's second leg.
Back-to-back league wins over Zlin and Teplice in July could not help Jindrich Trpisovsky find that winning formula on the continental stage, but the hosting manager - who paid tribute to the "unbelievable" atmosphere in Budapest - retains the faith in his side's ability to turn the tie around at home.
The Fortuna Liga champions were due to face off against Sigma Olomouc in a domestic encounter this weekend, but following technical difficulties during their return from the first leg in Hungary, the match was postponed, allowing Trpisovsky's men ample time to rest and recuperate for the second leg.
Slavia Prague may have been outclassed by Arsenal on their own turf in the Europa League last season, but defeat to the Gunners represents their only loss in 37 home matches - a run stretching all the way back to a 3-1 defeat to Inter Milan in November 2019.
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Also boosted by not having a domestic game at the weekend to contend with, Ferencvaros have their sights firmly set on another Champions League group stage run-out, although they must get past either Cluj or Young Boys in the playoff round to reach the proper tournament.
The 32-time Hungarian champions cannot book their tickets to the next stage just yet, though, as Peter Stoger's side must navigate another 90 minutes of football with all the professionalism and attacking guile that has seen them progress this far already.
Easing to 6-1 and 5-1 aggregate successes over Prishtina and Zalgiris in the earlier rounds respectively, Ferencvaros - whose first league game of the campaign ended in a dismal 2-1 defeat to Kisvarda on July 31 - know what it takes to get the job done in Europe, and their away record also makes for spectacular reading.
Since a 1-0 defeat at Dynamo Kiev in December 2020, the visitors have gone 14 games without defeat away from home in all competitions, as well as scoring at least two goals in 11 of their last 12 matches on the road both continentally and domestically.
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Team News
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Slavia defender Ondrej Kudela continues to serve a 10-game UEFA suspension after being found guilty of racial abuse towards Glen Kamara, while his fellow defender David Hovorka is recovering from cruciate ligament surgery.
Petr Sevcik left the field after just 25 minutes in the first leg with a sprained ankle, and the 27-year-old's spot in the engine room could now be filled by Ibrahim Traore.
Neither Abdallah Sima nor Peter Olayinka were handed starting roles in Budapest, but Trpisovsky ought to consider including both men from the off here after a toothless attacking performance.
Meanwhile, Ferencvaros have absolutely no reason whatsoever to alter their starting XI in Prague, with Stoger reporting no fresh concerns from the first-leg win on home soil.
However, midfielder David Siger suffered a ruptured knee ligament during a recent training session and is not expected to play again until 2022 having undergone successful surgery.
Club captain Denes Dibusz unsurprisingly replaced former Liverpool goalkeeper Adam Bogdan for the first leg and will endeavour to claim another European clean sheet here.
Slavia Prague possible starting lineup:
Kolar; Bah, Zima, Kacharaba, Dorley; Holes, Traore; Sima, Stanciu, Olayinka; Kuchta
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Wingo, S. Mmaee, Blazic, Civic; Kharatin, Laidouni, Zachariassen; Nguen, R. Mmaee, Uzuni
We say: Slavia Prague 2-1 Ferencvaros (Ferencvaros win 3-2 on aggregate)
Ferencvaros may be able to boast a stellar recent record away from home, but Slavia Prague - even with no supporters present - have simply swept aside almost every team to step through the Sinobo Stadium doors.
The potential introductions of Sima and Olayinka should help the hosts make the net ripple, but Ferencvaros are not exactly known for any sort of profligacy and will hope to seal progress to the playoff round, despite maybe suffering a defeat on the night.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
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 Slavia Prague win with a probability of 43.03%. A win for Ferencvaros had a probability of 31.32% and a draw had a probability of 25.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Slavia Prague win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.01%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.96%) and 2-0 (7.36%). The likeliest Ferencvaros win was 0-1 (8.28%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.18%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Slavia Prague in this match.
