Slavia Prague welcomes LASK on Thursday as the Czech league leaders for the round of 16 first leg of the Europa Conference League. The champions won the derby against Sparta 2-0 and are now level on points with Pilsen at the top. Goals from Ondrej Lingr (41st) and Ivan Schranz (92nd) fixed the sixth competitive win in a row in the 302nd Prague city duel.
Coach Jindrich Trpisovsky presented LASK with a puzzle during the dress rehearsal: he changed his starting eleven in six positions compared to the 5-1 at Kralove a week before. Among others, central defender David Hovorka played for the first time after a 13-month injury break. “The higher the pressure, the better he is. He’s a boss on the pitch,” Trpisovsky explained why the two-time team player surprisingly made the comeback. But that was only part of the truth – Slavia have defensive concerns ahead of the round of 16: defender Taras Kacharaba is suspended, Hovorka is not included in the knockout squad. Trpisovsky hopes that the ailing veteran Ondrej Kudela will be fit by Thursday. There are still tickets for the LASK sector in Prague, for the home game a week later in St. Pölten, free sale starts today.
Source: Nachrichten
