The Czech Republic and Wales are locked on seven points in Group E as the two nations prepare to face off in Prague on Friday night.
Second-place Czech Republic lead third-place Wales on goal difference, although the Dragons have a game in hand over the hosts.
📸📸📸 The first training session of our national team before upcoming matches against Wales and Belarus through the lens of @blackartcz 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/Plw27MK4NG— Czech Football National Team (@ceskarepre_eng) October 4, 2021
📸📸📸 The first training session of our national team before upcoming matches against Wales and Belarus through the lens of @blackartcz 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/Plw27MK4NG
With fourth-place Belarus sitting four points behind, both sides will be desperate to claim all three points a cement second place on Friday.
The Czechs surprised a lot of people in the summer, going all the way to the quarter-finals at the European Championship.
Since then, however, things haven’t exactly gone to plan. After beating Belarus, Jaroslav Silhavy’s men were thrashed by Group E leaders Belgium before drawing with Ukraine.
With eight goals to their name, the Czech Republic are the second-highest scorers in Group E. However, they have conceded two goals more than Wales.
It is also worth pointing out that four of the Czech’s previous five matches in all competitions have produced over 1.5 goals.
Wales, meanwhile, also enjoyed a run to the knockouts at Euro 2020 – falling to Denmark in the round of 16.
In their group, they drew with Switzerland before overcoming Turkey but were beaten by eventual champions Italy.
The Dragons are unbeaten since the Euros, having picked up a win and two draws from their previous three outings.
Wales have only lost one of their four World Cup qualifiers this campaign and are currently enjoying a three-game unbeaten streak in Group E.
Head-to-head: Wales beat the Czechs 1-0 in the reverse fixture back in March, with Daniel James scoring an 82th-minute winner in Cardiff.
The two nations have faced each other four times over the years. Both teams have secured onе victory, while the other two games have ended goalless.
Team news: The Czech Republic squad contains West Ham trio Vladimir Coufal, Alex Kral and Tomas Soucek, along with Bristol City’s Tomas Kalas and Burnley’s Matej Vydra.
Ben Cabango and Will Vaulks have replaced Rhys Norrington-Davies and Tom Lockyer in the Wales squad, while Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale is injured.
Considering three of the four meetings between the Czech Republic and Wales have dished up under 1.5 goals, we are set for a low-scoring encounter on Friday.
Forebet predicts that the Czech Republic and Wales will produce another goalless draw in Prague, with the two sides relatively evenly matched.