The Slavia footballers want to confirm their promotion to the EL group in the revenge against Luhansk

>> 4th preliminary round of the European Football League: SK Slavia Prague – FC Zorja Luhansk, August 24, 2023, Prague. Lukáš Masopust (third from the left) from Slavia rejoices with his teammates after scoring a goal.

Lublin (Poland) – The Slavia footballers want to confirm their progress to the group in Thursday's away rematch of the final 4th preliminary round of the Europa League against Luhansk. A week ago, Prague beat the third team of last season's Ukrainian league 2:0 at home in Eden, and even a one-goal loss would still be enough for them to participate in the main stage of the competition. Due to the Russian military attack on Ukraine, the match will take place in Lublin, Poland, where Zorja has cup asylum.

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Photo gallery: European Football League 2023/24

Slavia dominated the opening home match, but struggled for a long time in the end. The Czech vice-champion was decided by goals in the 81st minute and in set-up. Thanks to this, the Red and Whites came closer to progressing to the group stage of the Europa League, which they last played in the 2020/21 season.

Participation in the main stage of one of the cups is already certain for the Prague team since the previous preliminary round, in which they eliminated another Ukrainian rival Dnipro after a 3-0 win at home and a 1-1 draw away. In UEFA competitions, they will appear in the group for the seventh time in a row.

If the Slavists unexpectedly lost the double match with Luhansk, they would move to the main stage of the lower-quality European Conference League. The premium for participating in the Europa League group is 3.63 million euros (about 88 million crowns).

Prague remain cautious before the rematch, also because in the previous preliminary round against Dnipro, after a smooth opening home victory, they had to settle for a one-goal away game. loss and did not perform ideally. “We have a two-goal lead. Last time, I felt from Dnipro in the return game that they went into the match more relaxed. They felt that they had a long way to go and played much more relaxed than with us,” noted coach Jindřich Trpišovský.

“The second goal (with Zorja) is very important for us. But it will still be a chore, we will have to be careful and concentrated. Anything can happen in the match. There are a lot of red cards and penalties in the qualifiers, these moments can change things a lot. We have to perform like at home, be more efficient and take some lessons from the rematch with Dnipro in Košice. We have played well and we will want to finish it,” added Trpišovský.

For the second time in a row, Slávist are playing against a Ukrainian opponent and will once again appear in the asylum in an away game. The duel will be hosted by the stadium in Lublin for 15,500 spectators. “It's special. They don't play directly at home, it's not their typical home environment, but they're used to it. It will be nice for us if the fans come to support us again, because I'm unreal and they help us a lot,” said Slavia's assistant coach Zdeněk Houštecký.< /p>

The Prague team only drew 1:1 in Jablonec in the general game at the weekend and did not win in the league for the first time, but they maintained their invincibility even in the ninth competitive game of the season. Zorje is not doing well at the beginning of the year. On Sunday, she drew 1:1 at the Minaje Stadium and won only one of the six duels in the season. After the match, Serbian head coach Nenad Lalatovič resigned and, according to the media, the team will be led by Croatian assistant Mladen Bartulovič.

Defender Igoh Ogbu, who served a two-game suspension for being sent off in the opening match with Dnipro, could return to Slavia's lineup. Defensive all-rounder Oscar Dorley, who missed the last three games due to injury, also traveled with the team.

Statistics before the game

The match will kick-off at 19:00 on Thursday.

Kick-off: Thursday, August 31, 19:00 (Lublin).

< strong>First match: 0:2.

Referee: Brisard – Danos, Berthomieu – Millot (video, all Fr.).

Balance (club):

Ukraine – CR (Czechoslovakia): 27 10-8-9 36:30.

1979/80 UEFA: Ostrava – Dynamo Kyiv 1:0, 0:2,

1985/86 PVP: Dynamo Kyiv – Dukla Prague 3:0, 1:1,

1989/90 UEFA: Dynamo Kyiv – Ostrava 3:0, 1:1,

1990/91 PVP: Dynamo Kyiv – Dukla Prague 1:0, 2:2,

1991 /92 PMEZ: Sparta Prague – Dynamo Kyiv 2:1, 0:1,

1998/99 LM: Dynamo Kyiv – Sparta Prague 0:1, 1:0,

2000 /01 LM: Shakhtar Donetsk – Slavia Prague 0:1, 2:0 after extra time,

2000/01 LM: Sparta Prague – Shakhtar Donetsk 3:2, 1:2,

< p>2012/13 EL: Liberec – Dnepropetrovsk 2:2, 2:4,

2013/14 EL: Pilsen – Shakhtar Donetsk 1:1, 2:1,

2018 /19 LM: Slavia Prague – Dynamo Kyiv 1:1, 0:2,

2018/19 EL: Jablonec – Dynamo Kyiv 2:2, 1:0,

2023/24 EL: Slavia Prague – Dnipro 3:0, 1:1,

2023/24 EL: Slavia Praha – Luhansk 2:0.

Note: The overview does not include the matches of the Trade Fair Cup and the Intertoto Cup.

Expected lineups:< /h4>

Luhansk: Turbajevsky – Jordan, Batagov, Snurnicyn – Kyrjuchancev, Dryšljuk, Mičin, Vantuch – Jacyk, Anťuch – Guerrero.

Slavia: < /strong>Kolář – Vlček, Ogbu, Holeš – Douděra, Zafeiris, Ševčík, Provod – Schranz, Jurečka – Van Buren.

Absence: Butko, Dančenko, Macapura, Smijan (all injured + not on the roster), Myšňov, Rusyn (both uncertain start) – David Pech, Sinyan (both injured + not on the roster), Kačaraba, Tecl (both not on the roster), Oscar (uncertain start).

Interesting facts:

– Before Slavia, Luhansk had not yet played with Czech clubs in UEFA competitions

– In the previous preliminary round, Slavia eliminated Dnipro after a 3:0 win at home and a 1:1 draw away, and in the third double-header with a Ukrainian opponent, they advanced for the first time in UEFA competitions

– Czech teams have lost only one of the last 9 matches against Ukrainian teams in the cups

– both teams are already guaranteed participation in the group in this cup season, the eliminated one will go to the main stage of the European Conference League

– Luhansk entered this year's cup qualification in the 4th preliminary round< /p>

– Luhansk played a group in the cups 4 times (the last time was 2 years ago), but never advanced further, last year they were eliminated in the 3rd preliminary round of the Conference League

– Luhansk drew 1:1 at Minaj in the general game and won the only one of the 6 matches of the season

– Luhansk did not lose 3 times in a row at home in cups

– Slavia against Dnipro entered the this year's cup qualification and, by eliminating him, secured their seventh participation in the group stage in a row

– Slavia drew 1:1 in Jablonec in the general and did not win for the first time in the sixth league round, but did not lose in 9 competitive matches of the season

– Slavia won only one of the last 6 away duels in the cups

– Luhansk finished in 3rd place in the Ukrainian league last season, Slavia was second in the domestic competition

– Luhansk will be led in the match by the current assistant coach Bartulović, the head coach Lalatović resigned after the draw with Minaj

– Due to the Russian military attack on Ukraine, Luhansk plays home matches in the cups in an asylum in Lublin, Poland

– Jurásek (Slavia) celebrates his 20th birthday today

– Ukrainian Kacharaba works in Slavia, but he is not on the roster for the 4th preliminary round