Chelsea head to the Czech Republic seeking a first leg advantage in their Europa League quarterfinal against Slavia Praha.
The Blues are one of the favourites to win the tournament according to leading sportsbooks. Can Maurizio Sarri’s side continue their Europa League form against the Europa League’s surprise team?
Slavia Praha have been the surprise package in the Europa League. They finished second in Group C behind Zenit St. Petersburg with 10 points from 18. Slavia Praha then overcame Belgian club Genk in the last 32 before topping Spain’s Sevilla in the most exciting tie of the last 16. Slavia Praha gained an away draw before taking Sevilla to extra-time and winning in dramatic fashion, 4-3, at home in the second leg.
Chelsea won’t be as open at the back as Sevilla were in the previous round. Sarri’s side has conceded a mere three goals in the tournament thus far. Chelsea have allowed just one score in the knockout stages. That goal was conceded against Malmo in the last 32.
Striker Olivier Giroud has been stellar in the Europa League scoring nine goals. Although he has tallied just two goals in the Premier League, Giroud has got an extended run in the starting XI. It has allowed Giroud to once again show his high-quality goalscoring ability.
Sarri will most likely rotate his squad following Chelsea’s 2-0 win on Monday night against West Ham. Eden Hazard scored twice in the match, but it is unlikely he will play against Slavia. Hazard has played less than 30 minutes during Chelsea’s Europa League campaign.
Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso has been struggling with a hamstring injury, but could return for the fixture. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is in good form but also suffering from a knock. He is expected to play while Ross Barkley may miss out due to a back problem.
Slavia Praha manager Jindrich Trpisovsky doesn’t have any new injury issues going into the fixture.
Slavia Praha are undefeated in their last six Czech league games and they have kept three clean sheets during that run. Slavia Praha won 5-1 at the weekend against city rivals Dukla Praha in the build-up to Thursday night.
Although Slavia Praha have played well in the tournament thus far, the Czech side hasn’t played a team of Chelsea’s quality. Sarri has the ability to bring a number of stars into the team despite knocks to some of his players. With Giroud scoring goals galore in the tournament, Chelsea will get a big win in the first leg away from home. Over 2.5 goals should fly into the back of the net as the Blues take the advantage.