Preview: Slavia Prague vs. Hapoel Be'er Sheva - prediction, team news, lineups

Slavia Prague host Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the Europa League on Thursday, with a point enough to take the Czech Republic champions through to the knockout stages.

The visitors, meanwhile, must win to keep their hopes of remaining in the Europa League alive.

Match preview

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After losing to Be'er Sheva on the opening matchday in Group C, Slavia Prague have recovered immaculately by winning three matches in a row in the competition.

They were certainly helped by Karim Bellarabi's 22nd-minute red card in the 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen, but were hugely impressive in the 3-2 and 3-1 victories over Patrick Vieira's Nice in what are likely to prove to be decisive wins for the Czech Republic outfit.

Indeed, Jindrich Trpisovsky's side are six points clear of Nice and their forthcoming opponents with only two matches remaining, so avoiding defeat against the Israeli side will prove enough to see them through to the knockout stages of the Europa League for the second time in three seasons.

However, Trpisovsky is likely to go for the win which would massively increase their chances of topping the group ahead of Leverkusen.

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Due to head-to-head rules separating sides level on points, Be'er Sheva's chances of progressing are at least more likely than Nice, who they sit level on points with in Group C.

After beating Slavia Prague 3-1 on the opening matchday of the Europa League, another win against the Czech Republic outfit on Thursday would ensure that the Israeli's head-to-head record is superior. This would mean that, should Be'er Sheva beat Nice and Leverkusen beat Slavia Prague on the last matchday, Yossi Abukasis's side would progress to the knockout stages for only the second time in the club's history.

However, there is a long way to go before they get to that point, with victory in Prague paramount to their chances. They will need to massively improve on their performance in the 4-1 defeat at Leverkusen last week, when Abukasis's side had only one shot on target and 20% possession in the comprehensive victory.

However, Prague do not possess the talent levels of Leverkusen, and Be'er Sheva will take confidence from the fact that they have already beaten them this season.

Slavia Prague Europa League form: LWWW Slavia Prague form (all competitions): WWWWD

Hapoel Be'er Sheva Europa League form: WLLL Hapoel Be'er Sheva form (all competitions): DLDLLD

Team News

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Tripisovsky is missing a few players with injury for the visit of Be'er Sheva, with Laco Takacs (muscular), Tomas Malinsky (muscular) and David Hovorka (knee) all absent for the important clash.

The 44-year-old is likely to pack the midfield in an attempt to dominate possession and control the game, with Tomas Holes likely to play a key role at the base.

Abukasis is also missing a few players through injury, with Miguel Vitor (thigh), Amit Bitton (knee) and Gal Levi (knee) all unable to make the trip to Prague.

With his side needing to win, the 50-year-old may be tempted into moving away from his usual back five system in the pursuit of goals.

Slavia Prague possible starting lineup: Kolar; Masopust, Kudela, Zima, Boril; Sima, Sevcik, Holes, Lingr, Olayinka; Kuchta

Hapoel Be'er Sheva possible starting lineup: Levita; Dadya, Taha, Bareiro, Kabha, Goldberg; Sallallich, Meli, Keltjens, Yosefi; Shabiro

We say: Slavia Prague 2-0 Hapoel Be'er Sheva

We can envisage a comfortable home win for Slavia Prague, who should approach the match with plenty of confidence having won five of their last six matches in all competitions.

Tripisovsky's side are likely to retain too much possession for Be'er Sheva to be able to create the chances they need to win and subsequently remain in the competition.

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