Slavia Praha v Maccabi Tel-Aviv background
Slavia Praha have struggled for goals during home in Europe of late, and will need to be on their ensure as they acquire Maccabi Tel-Aviv in their UEFA Europa League Group A opener.
Previous meetings
• The sides are assembly for a initial time in UEFA competition, and it is Slavia’s initial confront with Israeli opponents.
• In their usually past assembly with Czech opposition, Maccabi separated Viktoria Plzeň in a 2015/16 UEFA Champions League third subordinate round, losing 2-1 during home though winning 2-0 away.
Form guide
• Czech champions Slavia have not conceded in their dual European home games this deteriorate – a 1-0 win opposite BATE and 0-0 pull with APOEL in UEFA Champions League subordinate – nonetheless they have scored usually once in their final 4 UEFA matches during Eden Arena (0-0, 0-3, 1-0, 0-0).
• Maccabi are now dominant in 9 European fixtures (W8 D1), including all 8 of their UEFA games this deteriorate (W7 D1). In fact, they have won their 4 2017/18 continental divided matches though surrender (3-0, 2-0, 1-0, 1-0), including final time out during play-off rivals Altach.
• Edged out by APOEL in a UEFA Champions League play-offs, Slavia twice done it by a UEFA Cup organisation theatre though they fell brief in their usually prior UEFA Europa League organisation debate of 2009/10.
• Maccabi have progressed from a initial subordinate turn to a UEFA Europa League organisation theatre for a second true season. They were joining and crater runners-up in Israel final term.
Links and trivia
• The tour from Tel Aviv to Prague is around 2,600km.
• Slavia’s Ruslan Rotan played for Dnipro in their 2015 UEFA Europa League final better by Sevilla; goalkeeper Jan Lastůvka was an new surrogate for a Ukrainians.
• Slavia screw Přemysl Kovář played in Israel with Hapoel Haifa (2014–16).
• Maccabi are one of 3 teams to have come all a approach from initial subordinate turn to organisation theatre this season, along with Crvena zvezda and Skënderbeu.
The coaches
• A Czechoslovak joining runner-up in 1992/93 as a Slavia midfielder, Jaroslav Šilhavý returned to a bar after a 22-year deficiency in Sep 2016. Having won a Czech climax as Liberec trainer in 2011/12, he triumphed again with Slavia in 2017.
• Jordi Cruyff took over as Maccabi trainer in 2017 after 5 years as a club’s sporting director. The son of Dutch good Johan Cruyff, he played for Barcelona and Manchester United and reached a 2001 UEFA Cup final with Alavés.