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Preview: Spurs host Czech leaders Slavia in the Champions League

Preview: Spurs host Czech leaders Slavia in the Champions League

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Spurs return to Champions League action against Slavia Prague with the sense of panic that had threatened to engulf The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following the Fulham match having eased a little.

By Ian King

Spurs’ Brentford win has given them a boost, but they need to pay attention to their Champions League campaign

Job done, then. A 2-0 win against Brentford on Saturday afternoon returned Spurs to home-winning ways for the first time since August, a result which lifted a fair amount of the pressure that had been starting to build under head coach Thomas Frank.  

But there remains work to be done, not least in the Champions League 36-team mega-group. A 5-3 defeat away to PSG in their last match dropped them to 16th place, and they now need to get back on track with what looks on paper to be a winnable tie against Czech champions Slavia Prague, knowing that they have two difficult games against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt to follow.

But Slavia aren’t anybody’s fools. They may be in 31st place in the Champions League group, having drawn three and lost two of their opening five matches, but they’re top of the Czech First League, unbeaten after 18 games and five points ahead of second-placed city rivals Sparta. 

They’ve already ground out draws against Bodø/Glimt, Atalanta and Athletic Club in this year’s competition, as well as suffering 3-0 defeats to Inter Milan and Arsenal.

Spurs and Slavia Prague met twice in the 2000s, and Spurs only just edged their way through both times

These two sides have met in European competition twice before, when they were drawn to play each other in successive seasons in the UEFA Cup. In 2006-07, Jermaine Jenas and Robbie Keane scored the goals as Spurs won both legs of their first round match 1-0. 

They met again in the Round of 32 of the competition the following year, after Slavia only finished third in their Champions League group. Spurs won the first leg 2-1 in Prague, with Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane scoring the Spurs goals.

But Spurs were given a bit of a fright in the second leg when, having taken an early lead through Jamie O’Hara, they were pegged back to 1-1 early in the second half by a Matěj Krajčík goal and ended up hanging on a bit to book a place in the next round. 

Xavi Simons’ goal against Brentford is something to build on following a disappointing start to his time at Spurs

It may have taken Xavi Simons until December to score his first goal for his new club following his £51 million transfer from PSG at the end of the summer window, but it was worth the wait, with the player carrying the ball forty metres before calmly slotting it in to set the seal on their 2-0 win. 

Simons season summary to date

Simons is an exceptionally talented player, and Frank will be hoping that this goal will kick-start a more successful spell at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Slavia Prague have two main goalscoring threats, but the man in form is Mojmír Chytil, who’s scored two in each of his last pair of Czech First League appearances for the club, against Teplice and Slovácko, and also has scored six times in 18 appearances for the Czech national team. 

Destiny Udogie likely to miss out, while Spurs also need to watch their yellow cards ahead of Dortmund fixture

James Maddison (ACL), Radu Dragusin (ACL), Kota Takai (thigh), Yves Bissouma (ankle), Dejan Kulusevski (knee) and Dominic Solanke all remain on the Spurs treatment table, while Destiny Udogie missed the Brentford match with a muscle injury and may be rested for this one as well. 

Brennan Johnson can return after serving a suspension, but Micky van de Ven, Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani may be rested, as they’re one yellow card each short of suspensions, with Borussia Dortmund to follow in their next Champions League fixture. 

Slavia Prague have their injury issues too. Oscar Dorley (muscle), Filip Horsky (ACL), Petr Ševčík (ACL) and Dominik Javorček (knee) will all be missing, while striker Tomáš Chorý – their second-highest goalscorer this season behind Chytil, is doubtful due to illness.

Four points from six should have eased some Spurs nerves, but Slavia Prague are not to be taken lightly

With four points having been claimed from their last two games, Spurs feel slightly less tense than they did this time last week. Their games against Newcastle and Brentford could easily have gone wrong, but they came through them, and good results from games against Nottingham Forest and Crisis Club Liverpool could yet put them back in touch with the top four or five in the Premier League by Christmas. 

But Spurs fans are plenty used to false dawns, and it’s not difficult to imagine circumstances under which this match gets treated as something of an afterthought, particularly considering that the game is also being trailed as a homecoming for Son Heung-min following his summer move to LAFC. 

And Slavia Prague should not be underestimated. They’re unbeaten in the Czech League, and although they haven’t won in this year’s Champions League yet, they’ve held decent teams to a draw and could be capable of taking something from this match.

On this occasion, though, I’m going to stay optimistic. Their opponents may have been poor, but Spurs’ win against Brentford was extremely comfortable, and following on from coming from behind twice against Newcastle, there are grounds to believe that Thomas Frank is turning a corner at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And just in time, too. With Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt to come in their final Champions League group matches, Spurs should be professional enough to understand the extent to which they need a win from this game, so I’ll go for a comfortable-ish 3-1 win for the home side as they seek to continue their recent upswing following what was a fairly dismal autumn. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Preview: Spurs host Czech leaders Slavia in the Champions League

Spurs return to Champions League action against Slavia Prague with the sense of panic that had threatened to engulf The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium following the Fulham match having eased a little.

By Ian King

Spurs’ Brentford win has given them a boost, but they need to pay attention to their Champions League campaign

Job done, then. A 2-0 win against Brentford on Saturday afternoon returned Spurs to home-winning ways for the first time since August, a result which lifted a fair amount of the pressure that had been starting to build under head coach Thomas Frank.  

But there remains work to be done, not least in the Champions League 36-team mega-group. A 5-3 defeat away to PSG in their last match dropped them to 16th place, and they now need to get back on track with what looks on paper to be a winnable tie against Czech champions Slavia Prague, knowing that they have two difficult games against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt to follow.

But Slavia aren’t anybody’s fools. They may be in 31st place in the Champions League group, having drawn three and lost two of their opening five matches, but they’re top of the Czech First League, unbeaten after 18 games and five points ahead of second-placed city rivals Sparta. 

They’ve already ground out draws against Bodø/Glimt, Atalanta and Athletic Club in this year’s competition, as well as suffering 3-0 defeats to Inter Milan and Arsenal.

Spurs and Slavia Prague met twice in the 2000s, and Spurs only just edged their way through both times

These two sides have met in European competition twice before, when they were drawn to play each other in successive seasons in the UEFA Cup. In 2006-07, Jermaine Jenas and Robbie Keane scored the goals as Spurs won both legs of their first round match 1-0. 

They met again in the Round of 32 of the competition the following year, after Slavia only finished third in their Champions League group. Spurs won the first leg 2-1 in Prague, with Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane scoring the Spurs goals.

But Spurs were given a bit of a fright in the second leg when, having taken an early lead through Jamie O’Hara, they were pegged back to 1-1 early in the second half by a Matěj Krajčík goal and ended up hanging on a bit to book a place in the next round. 

Xavi Simons’ goal against Brentford is something to build on following a disappointing start to his time at Spurs

It may have taken Xavi Simons until December to score his first goal for his new club following his £51 million transfer from PSG at the end of the summer window, but it was worth the wait, with the player carrying the ball forty metres before calmly slotting it in to set the seal on their 2-0 win. 

Simons season summary to date

Simons is an exceptionally talented player, and Frank will be hoping that this goal will kick-start a more successful spell at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

Slavia Prague have two main goalscoring threats, but the man in form is Mojmír Chytil, who’s scored two in each of his last pair of Czech First League appearances for the club, against Teplice and Slovácko, and also has scored six times in 18 appearances for the Czech national team. 

Destiny Udogie likely to miss out, while Spurs also need to watch their yellow cards ahead of Dortmund fixture

James Maddison (ACL), Radu Dragusin (ACL), Kota Takai (thigh), Yves Bissouma (ankle), Dejan Kulusevski (knee) and Dominic Solanke all remain on the Spurs treatment table, while Destiny Udogie missed the Brentford match with a muscle injury and may be rested for this one as well. 

Brennan Johnson can return after serving a suspension, but Micky van de Ven, Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani may be rested, as they’re one yellow card each short of suspensions, with Borussia Dortmund to follow in their next Champions League fixture. 

Slavia Prague have their injury issues too. Oscar Dorley (muscle), Filip Horsky (ACL), Petr Ševčík (ACL) and Dominik Javorček (knee) will all be missing, while striker Tomáš Chorý – their second-highest goalscorer this season behind Chytil, is doubtful due to illness.

Four points from six should have eased some Spurs nerves, but Slavia Prague are not to be taken lightly

With four points having been claimed from their last two games, Spurs feel slightly less tense than they did this time last week. Their games against Newcastle and Brentford could easily have gone wrong, but they came through them, and good results from games against Nottingham Forest and Crisis Club Liverpool could yet put them back in touch with the top four or five in the Premier League by Christmas. 

But Spurs fans are plenty used to false dawns, and it’s not difficult to imagine circumstances under which this match gets treated as something of an afterthought, particularly considering that the game is also being trailed as a homecoming for Son Heung-min following his summer move to LAFC. 

And Slavia Prague should not be underestimated. They’re unbeaten in the Czech League, and although they haven’t won in this year’s Champions League yet, they’ve held decent teams to a draw and could be capable of taking something from this match.

On this occasion, though, I’m going to stay optimistic. Their opponents may have been poor, but Spurs’ win against Brentford was extremely comfortable, and following on from coming from behind twice against Newcastle, there are grounds to believe that Thomas Frank is turning a corner at The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And just in time, too. With Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt to come in their final Champions League group matches, Spurs should be professional enough to understand the extent to which they need a win from this game, so I’ll go for a comfortable-ish 3-1 win for the home side as they seek to continue their recent upswing following what was a fairly dismal autumn. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Champions League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.