Group A of the 2020 European Championship qualifying was always there for England to win. The English remain favourites to claim top spot with just two rounds of fixtures remaining but both Czech Republic and Kosovo are in with a chance of claiming the second qualifying place.
That sets things up nicely for the meeting between the two teams at the Štruncovy sady Stadion in Plzeň on the 14th of November.
Czech Republic begin this round of matches sitting 2nd in the group with 12 points from their 6 games played. This leaves them 3 points behind the leaders England and one point clear of 3rd place Kosovo. Czech Republic have won 4 and lost 2 of their 6 games with their biggest result being the home victory over England last time out.
Trends show Czech Republic have won each of their 3 home 2020 European Championship qualifying games plus claimed one away victory which was 3-0 against Montenegro. The two defeats have both been away from home, with the first coming against England and the second in the first meeting with Kosovo.
Za 6 dní může #ceskarepre slavit postup na @UEFAEURO 🏆 Podívejte se na postupovou matematiku pro očekávaný zápas s Kosovem 🔣 pic.twitter.com/aRPu1Zj6hE— Česká fotbalová reprezentace (@ceskarepre_cz) November 8, 2019
Za 6 dní může #ceskarepre slavit postup na @UEFAEURO 🏆 Podívejte se na postupovou matematiku pro očekávaný zápas s Kosovem 🔣 pic.twitter.com/aRPu1Zj6hE
Czech Republic have won each of their last 4 competitive home games and 5 of the last 6 on home soil. They have scored 2 or more goals in each of their last 4 home games, including the most recent which was a friendly against Northern Ireland. However, Czech Republic have kept just one clean sheet in their last 5 home matches, including friendly games.
Thanks to their performance in the UEFA nations League, Kosovo have booked themselves a place in the play offs for the 2020 European Championship. Nonetheless, they will want to secure their place in the finals by finishing 2nd in this group and defeating Czech Republic in this match will move them into 2nd place with just one game remaining.
Kosovo have won 3, drawn 2 and last one of their 6 matches to date in Group A. Two of the wins came at home against Czech Republic and Montenegro with just one victory away from home in Bulgaria. Kosovo put up a good fight in their most recent away match which was away against England. They managed to score 3 goals in the game but conceded 5 to lose what was a fantastic match.
Trends show the defeat in England was Kosovo’s first away loss in their last 7 matches. They have won 3 of those 7 games and scored goals in each of the last 5.
Team news and Czech Republic have no suspension concerns ahead of this game. Expect to see Patrik Schick in attack, with the experienced Vladimír Darida in central midfield.
Kosovo will be looking towards Vedat Muriqi for their goals as he has already scored 4 in this campaign. Goalkeeper Samir Ujkani is the captain of the team and key to the organisation of the defence.
There is a great deal on the line in terms of qualification for both teams in this match. Their home and away record respectively suggests both teams will score in this game but Czech Republic are strong at home and should seal maximum points.