Slavia Prague welcome the visitors Chelsea in the Europa League Playoffs – Quarterfinals. The match will be held on Thursday, April, 11th, at the Sinobo Stadium (Prague).
At the Europa League group stage, Slavia Prague competed with Zenit, Bordeaux, and Copenhagen and managed to confidently qualify from the 2nd place. In the 1/16 final, the Czech league leaders faced Genk, which was quite a doable option. The goalless home draw did not look promising, but the Prague outfit managed to register an assertive victory in Belgium, 4:1. Afterwards, Slavia met the much tougher and more qualified Sevilla, the five-time Europa League winners. Despite their underdog status, Slavia attained a 2:2 draw in Spain – the outcome was by all means fine for them. That said, not only the team’s result was appealing, their game was either, as Slavia performed really bold. Same as the 1st encounter, the reverse leg produced goals from set-pieces. The normal time in Prague ended in 2:2. In the overtime, Franco Vazquez led Sevilla ahead, and his side had an advantage of an away goal. Under the circumstances, Slavia had to net twice, which they did. In 4 minutes, Mick van Buren featured a great combination and leveled the score. The hosts had around 20 minutes to pull out a win, and they succeeded in that. The Spaniards started to panic in the final minutes, defended their best, and finally Simon Kjær, who could hardly run because of the fatigue, had scored an own goal. The Prague outfit have already passed Genk and Sevilla, now they face far stronger opponents. The hosts have almost solidified their leading status domestically, so, they may now focus on the clash with the Londoners.
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In March, it has become known that the Russian businessman Roman Abramovich has been negotiating with James Ratcliffe, the UK richest man, on selling Chelsea. Abramovich estimates the cost of his club as £2.2 billion, but Ratcliffe sees it too high, especially given that the Stamford Bridge needs reconstruction. Abramovich is known to be a great football lover, therefore, he wants to sell Chelsea to someone who deals with football. No doubt, the Europa Leagues does not present a priority for the ‘Pensioners’. Nevertheless, the draw favors them much, so, the team may win the tournament even without their key performers. Chelsea won the group stage mostly with their second squad, then they easily passed Malmo (2:1, 3:0) and Dynamo Kyiv (3:0, 5:0). This time, the Londoners face Slavia that are far from being labelled the European giants. Anyways, the ‘Pensioners’ are now more engaged in the Premiere League battle wherein they fight with Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, and Manchester United for the 3rd-4th tiers which provide for the Champions League. Chelsea are certainly unwilling to compete in the Europa League again next season.
The Thursday opponents have never met before. Qualification to the Europa League quarterfinal is an unprecedented success for Slavia, as the Czech league is rather frugal by the European standards. Undoubtedly, the hosts deserve their progression to this stage; at the same time, they will find it hard to compete here, the psychological aspect included. It is very likely that Chelsea will travel to Prague without some of their key players; but, as practice shows, the team are capable of winning opponents of Slavia’s caliber without their leaders.
Prediction for the match: Chelsea to win away.
