Preview: Zorya Luhansk vs. Slavia Prague - prediction, team news, lineups

Zorya Luhansk will aim to overturn a 2-0 deficit in the second leg of their Europa League playoff against Slavia Prague at the Arena Lublin on Thursday.

Both sides recorded a 1-1 draw in domestic competition on Sunday, but the Ukrainians must end a three-game winless run if they are to progress in Europe.

Match preview

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It is no exaggeration to say that Slavia Prague should have put the tie to bed last week, as the Czech side racked up 65% possession and 27 shots in the first leg, limiting Zorya to a solitary attempt on target at Fortuna Arena.

Despite the hosts' relentless pressure, the visitors managed to keep a clean sheet until the 81st minute, with substitute Muhamed Tijani coming off the bench to break the deadlock before Lukas Masopust's stoppage-time clincher.

Following a 1-1 draw with Minaj last time out, Zorya have managed to win just one of their six matches across all competitions this season, suffering three defeats along the way, and they already find themselves six points behind table-topping Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Premier League.

To make matters worse for Nenad Lalatovic's men, they have managed to score just once in their previous three outings, and they need to score at least two goals if they want to reach the Europa League proper this term.

By contrast, Slavia Prague have enjoyed a hugely impressive start to the campaign and remain unbeaten in 2023-24, having picked up seven wins and two draws across all competitions.

The Czech outfit dropped their first domestic points of the season on Sunday as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Jablonec, but Jindrich Trpisovsky's men have taken 16 points from a possible 18 to keep pace with arch-rivals Sparta Prague during the early stages of the campaign.

Funnily enough, the Slavists dispatched another Ukrainian club - Dnipro-1 - in the previous round of Europa League qualifying, booking their place in the playoffs thanks to a 4-1 aggregate victory.

Having notched two wins and one draw in Europa League qualifying so far - scoring six goals while keeping two clean sheets - Slavia Prague will be confident of completing the job at the Arena Lublin on Thursday.

Team News

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Zorya Luhansk have numerous injuries in the defensive department, with full-backs Oleg Danchenko, Bogdan Butko and Maksym Smiyan joining goalkeeper Dmytro Matsapura on the club's absentee list.

Nenad Lalatovic will likely deploy an attacking 4-3-3 formation as he attempts to instigate a comeback, meaning that Denys Antyukh, Eduardo Guerrero and Roman Vantukh should start in the forward line, with Oleksandr Yatsyk anchoring the midfield.

Slavia Prague have several injury absentees of their own, with Sheriff Sinyan, Oscar Dorley and David Pech expected to miss the second leg, while Stanislav Tecl and Taras Kacharaba are ineligible.

Despite Slavia's lead, Jindrich Trpisovsky will not shy away from his favoured 3-4-3 formation, meaning that Matej Jurasek, Mojmir Chytil and Ivan Schranz will continue to lead from the front.

Zorya Luhansk possible starting lineup:

Turbayevskyi; Kyryukhantsev, Jordan, Batagov, Snurnitsyn; Dryshlyuk, Yatsyk, Myshnyov; Antyukh, Guerrero, Vantukh

Slavia Prague possible starting lineup:

Kolar; Masopust, Vleck, Holes; Doudera, Zafeiris, Sevcik, Provod; Jurasek, Chytil, Schranz

We say: Zorya Luhansk 1-3 Slavia Prague (Slavia Prague to win 5-1 on aggregate)

Given that Slavia Prague remain unbeaten this season - having picked up seven wins and two draws in all competitions - we expect the Czech side to secure another straightforward victory over Zorya Luhansk.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.