We have reached the playoff round of the 2020/21 UEFA Champions League. The winners of this stage will progress to the groups and the opportunity to play some of the biggest teams in European football.
On Tuesday the 22nd of September we have an intriguing match to look forward to between Slavia Prague and FC Midtjylland.
Zítřejší první zápas play off Ligy mistrů proti Midtjyllandu 🇩🇰 bude řídit zkušený turecký rozhodčí Cüneyt Cakir 🇹🇷. Stejný muž rozhodoval i první zápas loňského play off v Kluži. Proti Slavii nařídil penaltu, kterou Ondra Kolář chytil, a sešívaní vyhráli 1:0!#slafcm pic.twitter.com/8qlr66oEvy— SK Slavia Praha ⭐️⭐️ (@slaviaofficial) September 21, 2020
Zítřejší první zápas play off Ligy mistrů proti Midtjyllandu 🇩🇰 bude řídit zkušený turecký rozhodčí Cüneyt Cakir 🇹🇷. Stejný muž rozhodoval i první zápas loňského play off v Kluži. Proti Slavii nařídil penaltu, kterou Ondra Kolář chytil, a sešívaní vyhráli 1:0!#slafcm pic.twitter.com/8qlr66oEvy
The hosts come into the match on the back of an excellent 5-1 home victory against Teplice in the Czech Liga. That result leaves them in second place in their domestic league, just two points off the leaders and with an undefeated record.
In terms of the Champions League this season, Slavia Prague will be entering the competition for the first time having qualified automatically for the playoffs. However, you only have to go back to last season to find their most recent involvement in the competition. Slavia Prague reached the group stages and despite failing to win a game they delivered some excellent performances against the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan, and Borussia Dortmund.
Slavia Prague picked up a point in a 1-1 draw at the San Siro against Inter Milan and also held Spanish giants Barcelona to a 0-0 draw away from home.
At this stage of the Champions League last season, Slavia Prague were paired with CFR Cluj of Romania and won both legs of the tie 1-0.
Midtjylland entered the Champions League this season in the second qualifying round against Ludogorets Razgrad of Bulgaria. This was a tough test of their credentials against a team that played in the 2016 group stages of the competition but a single goal scored by Júnior Brumado was enough to seal the victory.
Into the third qualifying round of the competition and Midtjylland were drawn at home against Young Boys of Switzerland. With the score at 0-0 following the first 45 minutes, it appeared as though we were going to be in for a tense second half but Midtjylland opened the scoring after 51 minutes and never looked back. The Danish club added two more goals to win the match 3-0.
Trend show Midtjylland have lost only 2 of their 8 games in the Champions League, with all of them come in in the qualifying rounds. Away from home they have defeated Lincoln Red Imps, APOEL, and Ludogorets.
Looking ahead to the team news and Slavia Prague will be without the injured David Hovorka who is facing a long spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury. Every other player should be fit and available for the hosts.
Midtjylland travel to the Czech Republic with doubts over the fitness of Kristian Dirks Riis. Young Brazilian forward Júnior Brumado is expected to start the match in attack.
This is going to be an extremely close game, with both teams knowing the importance of remaining in the tie ahead of the second leg. However, Slavia Prague proved they were capable of performing against some of the biggest teams in Europe last season and could sneak a narrow 1-0 victory.