Slavia Prague and Nice will both be looking to record back-to-back wins in the Europa League when the two sides meet on matchday three at the Sinobo Stadium.
The Czech giants took the spoils in a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen last week, while Nice triumphed by the same scoreline in their clash with Hapoel Be'er Sheva.
Match preview
© Reuters
Owing to the three-week postponement of the Czech first league, Slavia Prague have been able to focus all their recent efforts on the Europa League, and the domestic champions made their rest count as they unexpectedly picked up all three points against Leverkusen on matchday two.
The German giants were at a disadvantage for the majority of the game following Karim Bellarabi's early sending off, but Slavia did not rest on their laurels and ultimately triumphed after Peter Olayinka came off the bench to power a header home following a corner.
Lukas Hradecky's earlier penalty save for Leverkusen ultimately counted for nothing as Slavia Prague held on to register their first win of the Europa League season, with Jindrich Trpisovsky's men suffering a dismal 3-1 loss to Hapoel Be'er Sheva in the opening round of fixtures.
The Czech champions have not taken to the pitch domestically for three weeks due to the coronavirus situation in their homeland, but the league has now been cleared to resume, and what better way for Slavia to mark their return than with a mouthwatering derby against Sparta Prague this weekend?
Slavia Prague cannot afford to look ahead to Saturday's clash just yet, though, as Trpisovsky will be determined to lead his side to victory in Europe for the second week running before he can allow himself to focus on the Derby of the Prague S.
© Reuters
Nice did not enjoy such a result against Leverkusen, however, with Patrick Vieira's men shipping six against the Bundesliga side before rectifying those mistakes against Be'er Sheva last week.
The Ligue 1 side recorded a slender victory over the Israeli outfit courtesy of an Amine Gouiri winner - his second goal in as many Europa League outings - and the only way is up for Nice in the league as they stretched their unbeaten domestic run to five games in their weekend clash with Angers.
Rony Lopes, Pierre Lees Melou and Hicham Boudaoui were all on target for Vieira's side, who now find themselves in the top four at this early stage of the Ligue 1 season, but the focus now turns to the European stage for Nice as they bid to reach the knockout stages for just the second time ever.
With all four sides in Group C sitting on three points after two matches, a win here for either side would go a long way towards staking a claim for a knockout berth, as something has to give between Leverkusen's clash with Be'er Sheva.
Slavia Prague Europa League form: LW
Slavia Prague form (all competitions): DWLWLW
Nice Europa League form: LW
Nice form (all competitions): WWLDWW
Team News
© Reuters
Slavia Prague are blessed with a near fully-fit squad for Thursday's showdown, with Ondrej Karafiat the solitary concern as he nurses an ankle injury.
Olayinka and Tomas Holes both made their returns last week after recovering from coronavirus, and Trpisovsky lavished praise on the former following his winner against Leverkusen, so it would not be a surprise to see the 24-year-old feature from the first whistle here.
In contrast, Nice were forced to witness the sombre sight of Dante being stretchered off against Angers, and the 37-year-old may have played his final game for Les Aiglons after it was confirmed that he had suffered an ACL tear.
As a result, 19-year-old Flavius Daniliuc is in line to deputise in the heart of defence, with Kasper Dolberg hoping to come back into the fold after being benched against Angers.
However, Nice right-back Youcef Atal has found himself in hot water recently, with a local politician calling on Les Aiglons to remove him from the squad after he liked a controversial Instagram post from MMA legend Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Slavia Prague possible starting lineup:
Kolar; Holes, Zima, Kudela, Boril; Sevcik, Dorley; Masopust, Stanciu, Olayinka; Musa
Nice possible starting lineup:
Benitez; Daniliuc, Pelmard, Robson Bambu; Atal, Schneiderlin, Boudaoui, Kamara; Lopes, Dolberg, Gouiri
We say: Slavia Prague 1-2 Nice
Slavia Prague will no doubt have one eye on their highly-anticipated clash with Sparta Prague, and that could factor into the hosts' team selection for Thursday, but this match is of paramount importance nonetheless. Nice are sure to be rocked by the loss of their experienced captain Dante, but Vieira's men have plenty of firepower up top and we expect Les Aiglons to take all three points in a closely-fought battle.
