Villarreal v Slavia Praha background
Villarreal will demeanour to extend Slavia Praha’s ten-year wait for a European divided feat as a sides accommodate in their third UEFA Europa League Group A game.
Previous meetings
• The teams are confronting any other for a initial time.
• Villarreal are dominant in 7 encounters with Czech clubs: W5 D2.
• Slavia have won usually one of their 8 games opposite Spanish opposition – 2-0 opposite Celta Vigo in a 2003 UEFA Champions League qualifier. Their altogether record: W1 D3 L4 (D2 L2 in Spain).
Form guide
• Villarreal are dominant in 3 European matches (W2 D1).
• Slavia are though a win in 19 UEFA divided fixtures (D9 L10) given a 1-0 feat during Ajax in Aug 2007.
• Semi-finalists in 2015/16 when they mislaid to Liverpool, Villarreal are featuring in a fourth uninterrupted UEFA Europa League organisation stage, carrying progressed safely in any of a final three.
• Edged out by APOEL in this season’s UEFA Champions League play-offs, Slavia done it by a UEFA Cup organisation theatre in 2005/06, though missed a cut in 2008/09 and also fell brief in their usually prior UEFA Europa League organisation debate of 2009/10.
Trivia and links
• The tour from Prague to Villarreal is around 1,600km.
• Slavia midfielder Miroslav Stoch turns 28 on a day of a game.
• Villarreal share with Anderlecht a record of removing by a UEFA Europa League organisation theatre 5 times.
• The duo’s Group A rivals Maccabi are one of 3 teams to have come all a approach from initial subordinate turn to organisation theatre this term, 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. And carrying won a Czech climax as Liberec trainer in 2011/12, he triumphed again with Slavia in 2017.
• Villarreal discharged manager Fran Escribá on 25 Sep in a arise of a 4-0 better during Getafe. He had been in assign given 2016, heading a group to a fifth-placed Liga finish final season.
• Villarreal’s new manager is Javier Calleja, who represented them as a actor from 1999–2006, and returned to El Madrigal as a girl manager after unresolved adult his boots. He was coaching a B group when he was called on to reinstate Escribá.