AC MILAN v SLAVIA PRAHA: OPPONENT REVIEW

Coming off the back of the away win against Lazio that sees the Rossoneri back in the running for the second spot in Serie A, AC Milan is ready to dive back into those European nights for the Europa League last 16 to take a step closer to the next round in front of the San Siro crowd. On Thursday 7 March at 21:00 CET, Slavia Praha come to town, a simple opponent on paper but not to be underestimated on the pitch. The Červenobílí finished top of Group G in the group stage having beaten Roma and only suffered one defeat (to the Giallorossi in the first leg, 0-2). The team, coached by Jindřich Trpišovský since 2018, is currently second in the Czech league with 56 points, -4 to leaders Sparta Praha against whom they played for a goalless draw last weekend. 

Slavia Praha has notable stats in the league: they arrive off the back of 9 good results (7 wins and 2 draws), they have the second-best defence with only 17 goals conceded in 23 games, and they are the only side that hasn't lost away all season (8 wins and 4 draws away from the Eden Aréna). They're a brand-new opponent for AC Milan: the Diavolo has never played Slavia Praha in a European competition before.  Even if the Czech side has never won a European clash in Italy (1D, 7L) against 7 different teams (Roma twice, Bologna, Udinese, Palermo, Fiorentina, Genoa, and Inter), we must be on our guard. In the last 10 games, they have only once lost the first leg of a double-header in a European competition elimination round (2W, 7D): 1-0 to Chelsea in 2018/19 in the Europa League quarter-finals.

PRESSING, RECOVERIES AND FAST RUNS: SLAVIA PRAHA'S WEAPONRY
The philosophy that Trpišovský passes on to his men has few key concepts, but they're incredibly clear: play attacking football; never give up on the ball and impose yourself on the game. The Czech side, as a consequence, always tries to recover the ball if they lose possession. The proof is the massively high press seen this Europa League and attested to by their PPDA metric (opponent passes allowed per defensive action) that totals 10.1: the fourth lowest in the competition after Atalanta, Sporting Braga, and Liverpool. Once back in possession, Slavia Praha push forwards with long balls to make the most of their players up front, as the 32 successful long passes demonstrate - less only than the 33 of Sparta Praha and the 41 of Freiburg of the squads in the last 16 - and the 13 shots taken after recovering the ball in an offensive area - less only than Qarabag FK (14), Stade Rennais (16) and Freiburg (18).

But Trpišovský's side can also count on a solid defence that stops people from even reaching Ales Mandous. Only 4 goals conceded by the Czech side in 6 games, compared to the 3 conceded by AC Milan in two fixtures. Moreover, Slavia Praha kept a clean sheet in 4 of the 6 games in the group stage: no side has picked up more in the Europa League 2023/24 (4 also for Brighton). 

VÁCLAV JUREČKA AND MOJMÍR CHYTIL, GOAL COLLECTIVE
Slavia Praha can also count on solidity, European experience, and goals. They are the only squad to boast two players who have bagged double figures in the domestic league this season: 10 goals for both Václav Jurečka and Mojmír Chytil (including a hattrick against Pardubice at the end of February). These two will be the main target of the Rossoneri defence without a doubt. Jurečka, in particular, has scored at least 10 goals in each of the last three seasons in the Czech top flight (30 for Slavia Praha), whilst Chytil is the player with the most goal involvements (5, 4 goals and an assist) for the Czechs this Europa League, as well as scoring the side's last two goals in the competition.

A goalscoring duo with respectable numbers, but able to defend the ball as well to facilitate runs from their teammates. Amongst them are the talented Christos Zafeirīs, born in 2003, a dutiful and powerful mezzala who has scored 3 goals so far this season in the league, all away from home, as well as Lukáš Masopust who has more experience compared to the Norwegian (born in 1993) and is gifted with a great understanding of the game: he has provided 19 assists in the last 4 seasons in the Czech First League (3 this season), less only than Lukáš Kalvach with 20 in the same period. 

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