Preview: Czech Republic vs. Faroe Islands - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to right the wrongs of their atrocious Albania performance, the Czech Republic return to home turf at the Doosan Arena in Plzen to take on basement boys Faroe Islands on Sunday.

Jaroslav Silhavy's men went down 3-0 to Euro 2024 qualifying Group E leaders Albania on Thursday evening, while Poland made light work of the hosts' upcoming opponents.

Match preview

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Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Czech Republic on an evening where their six-game unbeaten run in all competitions was broken in dismal fashion, as Albania ran riot and subjected Silhavy's men to their heaviest defeat in 11 months.

Jasir Asani began the rout with nine minutes gone before Taulant Seferi notched a brace for himself in the second 45, by which point salt had already been rubbed into the wounds for the Czech Republic, who had Mojmir Chytil sent off for two bookable offences in Tirana.

The Czechs have never failed to qualify for the Finals of the European Championship as an independent nation - alternating between group-stage exits and knockout progressions since 1996 - but with three games left to play, the hosts' golden streak is at risk of being snapped.

Nothing can be decided as far as Silhavy's men are concerned this weekend, as they occupy third place in the rankings on eight points and are only one adrift of second-placed Poland - who have also played a game more - while sharing the same points total with Moldova but besting the Tricolours on goal difference.

Albania's ruthless attacking endeavours made it four games without a clean sheet for the Czech Republic, but only one of the hosts' last 11 home matches has ended in defeat - a 4-0 Nations League drubbing at the hands of Portugal last September - and few will expect the Faroe Islands to spring any surprises here.

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While the Czech Republic have an impressive collection of major tournament appearances to their name, the Faroe Islands are still waiting to announce themselves to the World Cup and Euros landscape - an agonising wait which is virtually guaranteed to last that little bit longer.

Hakan Ericsson's side were mathematically still in with a hope of surging up the Group E standings and finishing in the top two in midweek, but those wafer-thin chances were soon extinguished by Poland, who claimed a comfortable 2-0 win in Torshavn thanks to Sebastian Szymanski and Adam Buksa's efforts - Hordur Askham was sent off for the hosts for good measure.

With only a solitary point to show from their opening six fixtures thanks to an opening draw with Moldova, the Faroe Islands are now consigned to finish dead last in the section, and while it is not impossible for the world's 131st-ranked nation to compete in the playoffs, such hopes are fanciful at best.

Since gleaning a hard-earned draw on matchday one, Ericsson's men have been subjected to a quintet of dampening defeats, although they have not been blown to smithereens in any of those contests; their heaviest loss in the section so far was by three goals to nil.

However, that beating came at the hands of the Czech Republic at their Torshavn headquarters back in June - a result which made it six wins from six for the hosts against the National Team, who have failed to score in every single one of those meetings.

Team News

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On account of his first-half sending-off on Thursday - having been cautioned for a foul before being penalised for a handball just 14 minutes later - Czech Republic attacker Chytil will sit out the visit of the Faroe Islands through suspension.

Thankfully for Silhavy, he is hardly short of options in the final third, where Bayer Leverkusen frontman Adam Hlozek will battle Vaclav Jurecka and Tomas Cvancara for the right to spearhead the charge, although all three could be considered for starts if rotation comes into play.

No injuries were reported in the Czech camp following their Albanian beating, and Silhavy has recognisable names such as Lukas Masopust, Lukas Provod and Feyenoord loanee Ondrej Lingr vying to earn minutes from the first whistle.

Likewise, Faroe Islands head coach Ericsson will also be forced into an alteration for disciplinary reasons, as 13-cap centre-back Askham was given his marching orders with just four minutes gone in the second half against Poland and will sit on the naughty step this weekend.

Sonni Nattestad - who represents local outfit B36 - should enter the fray as a like-for-like replacement, and given the quick turnaround, a start could also come the way of Stefan Radosavljevic, who plies his trade in the Republic of Ireland with Sligo Rovers.

Czech Republic possible starting lineup:
Pavlenka; Krejci, Brabek, Vitik; Coufal, Soucek, Lingr, Provod; Cerny, Cvancara, Hlozek

Faroe Islands possible starting lineup:
Lamhauge; Danielsen, Faero, Nattestad, Davidsen; Vatnhamar; Bjartalid, Hendriksson, Radosavljevic, Johansen; Olsen

We say: Czech Republic 2-0 Faroe Islands

Despite their lowly standing in the section, the Faroe Islands' backline has not been carved open at will by their Group E foes, and a Czech Republic side reeling from Thursday's horror show should not be expected to run riot in Plzen.

However, with Silhavy still able to call upon a healthy set of reserve options on home soil, the Czechs should almost certainly get their qualification charge back on track, while maintaining their perfect defensive record against their beleaguered visitors.


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