Slavia Prague Takes On Arsenal: Everything You Need To Know Before The Clash

Seven days after their embarrassing exit at the hands of fourth-tier Fleetwood Town, Arsenal head to Czechia with caution as they face a potential banana skin against Slavia Prague.

On paper, this ought to be a comfortable Champions League outing for last season's runners-up. Slavia may be topping their domestic league, but they have managed just one point in this season's league phase. The Prague side was even beaten by competition newcomers Sabah FK, who claimed a memorable 2–0 victory in Azerbaijan last month.

Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta's reigning Premier League champions were given a harsh reminder of football's unpredictable nature. Despite controlling virtually every aspect of their Carabao Cup clash, the Gunners still fell to Fleetwood in a penalty shootout last week.

"This is football," Arteta remarked with a shrug, "that's the beauty." It wouldn't require quite as dramatic a shock for Arsenal to be punished once more in Prague.

Slavia Prague vs. Arsenal Score Prediction

Gunners Out to Avoid Another Upset

The Carabao Cup stumble aside, it would still come as a surprise to see Arsenal trip over this particular obstacle.

Slavia have not claimed a Champions League victory since 2007, when they shared a group with the Gunners and defeated Steaua București. The prolonged wait for success in Europe's premier competition has weighed so heavily that the Czech media frequently reference a "Champions League curse" hanging over their country's top club.

Arsenal played their part in deepening Slavia's European misery with a 3–0 victory exactly one year ago on Wednesday. "We've learned," defender David Zima stated when reflecting on that recent encounter, "and will be better tomorrow." Yet he also cautioned: "We need to surprise them, find some weaknesses. If we let them play their game they will kill us."

Prediction: Slavia Prague 0–2 Arsenal

Slavia Prague Predicted Lineup vs. Arsenal

Slavia manager Jindřich Trpišovský also reflected on that previous loss to Arsenal last year with a degree of optimism. "Compared to our last meeting, we have more firepower to pose a threat."

Attacker Lukáš Provod is back in the frame, though only as a substitute option, while first-choice goalkeeper Jakub Markovič has resumed training with the squad after missing three matches.

Questions remain over center back Ange N'Guessan, who has been struggling through training sessions, while fellow defenders Igoh Ogbu, Elias Pitak and Hamidou Kante are all still out. Slavia will also be missing the attacking duo of Adonija Ouanda and Ivan Schranz.

Slavia Prague predicted lineup vs. Arsenal (3-4-2-1): Markovič; Holeš, Zima, Chaloupek; Vlček, Sadílek, Moses, Kubiak; Ayaosi, Suleiman; Nowak.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup vs. Slavia Prague

This is where Arteta's trust in his squad depth will be put to the test. While he is unlikely to rotate as heavily as he did against Fleetwood—the tall yet surprisingly slight Marli Salmon is not expected to feature at center back again—there will almost certainly be some changes to the starting XI that defeated Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Cristhian Mosquera could come in at center back in place of Ezri Konsa, who may also face competition from William Saliba after the Frenchman made his long-awaited return to first-team training this week. Bukayo Saka, however, remains unavailable.

Arsenal predicted lineup vs. Slavia Prague (4-2-3-1): Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Hincapié; Lewis-Skelly, Rice; Madueke, Merino, Eze; Gyökeres.

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