SLAVIA PRAHA v AC MILAN: OPPONENT REVIEW

Milan calls, and Prague responds. If AC Milan beat Empoli 1-0 in the last league fixture to overtake Juventus in the table to go second thanks to the goal from Pulisic, Slavia Praha bagged a big 4-0 win over Tepice in the Czech top flight with a brace from Jurasék in the first half and goals from Wallem and Jurečka after the break. They're now only one point off the league leaders Sparta Praha who suffered a 4-0 defeat away to Viktoria Plzeň. Fiery then, should be the return clash in the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday 14 March at 18:45 CET at the Eden Aréna. There is a spot in the quarter-finals at stake for Stefano Pioli's Rossoneri and Jindřich Trpišovský's side, who will have to work hard to overturn the 4-2 result suffered at San Siro after going down to 10 men in the 26th minute with Diouf receiving a straight red for a foul on Pulisic. 

Slavia Praha's march to the top of the league table seems unstoppable. So far, the Červenobílí have lost the least amount of games of all sides in the top division: only one in the 24 played (18W, 5D), against Viktoria Plzeň in November, the side with which they share the longest unbeaten run in the competition (10 games). But the stats of Trpišovský's side are also respectable in terms of Europe since the Red and Whites have won each of their last 5 games at the Eden Aréna in the Europa League (including the preliminary round), keeping a clean sheet in each of them and scoring a total of 17 goals for an average of 3.4 per game. Moreover, each of the four wins over Italian sides in the Europa League came in the home fixture: the latest was a 2-0 win over Roma in November as part of this year's group stage.

POSSESSION AND PASSES: HOW SLAVIA PRAHA PUTS YOU IN TROUBLE
Slavia Praha has given big opponents a hard time in Europe and has switched things up with Sparta Praha closer to home. Two goals down on aggregate, Jindřich Trpišovský's men will try to gain control of the game early on to trouble the Rossoneri defence, spurred on by their fans and aware of their offensive powers: third for the total number of goals scored so far in the Czech First League on 50, behind Sparta Praha on 55 and Viktoria Plzeň on 59, but they're top for goals scored in 2024 with 15. A large number of goals is balanced out by a defence that, despite the four goals conceded in the Europa League round of 16 first leg at San Siro, is the most solid in the Czech top flight: only 17 total goals conceded and a clean sheet in their last four league games.

Slavia Praha is used to dominating the game and having the run of the pitch with possession that is hard to break down and a dense network of passes that sees them top-of-the-league for both stats, respectively 62% possession and 10728 successful passes. This intensity isn't just clear in their build-up play (second side for sequences of 10 passes or more with 176, less only than Sparta Praha with 242), but also in winning the ball back (1464 recoveries made, top in the Czech league) to shut down the opposition right away.

DAVID DOUDERA, JINDŘICH TRPIŠOVSKÝ'S WILDCARD
Two shots on target and two goals for Slavia Praha in the game last Thursday. After a first leg that consisted of ups and downs, Stefano Pioli's men will need maximum concentration in Prague. Especially in defence, to avoid situations like the one that led to Ivan Schranz's goal. At San Siro, the Slovenian forward bagged his third goal in the Europa League this season, only one less than Mojmír Chytil who is their top scorer in the competition. Schranz, however, is just one of the many things hidden up Jindřich Trpišovský's sleeve.

Also keeping the dream alive for the fans at the Eden Aréna will be Václav Jurečka, who has scored more than 10 goals for the third season running in the Czech top division after his goal deep in injury time against Teplice last weekend. Beware also of Mojmír Chytil and his 14 goals scored across all competitions in 2023/24, and David Doudera who has bagged all three of his this season in the Europa League, including the one against the Rossoneri in the first leg. The 1998-born player took the most chances during the clash at San Siro, together with Giroud and Leão: four, or as many shots as all the other Slavia players combined. 

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