European debutants FC Slovacko welcome German side FC Koln to the Mestsky Fotbalovy Stadion on Thursday for an important UEFA Europa Conference League group phase fixture.
Group D is extremely tight at the moment, with just four points separating all four sides in the section.
Match preview
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Despite being European debutants this season, Czech cup winners Slovacko have shown the continent that they belong at this level, as their win away at Nice last time out proved.
They will go into this fixture confident too after improving their home form of late, winning back-to-back games here after going six matches without a win on home soil.
They were perhaps a little fortunate to see off Teplice at the weekend though, as Martin Svedik's side needed two goals in the final five minutes to turn the game around and record a 2-1 victory.
Four wins and five losses in their last nine matches across all competitions illustrates their inconsistency, as they have struggled to juggle the demands of European and domestic football so far this season and are languishing down in 10th.
While Slovacko have shown improvement at home though, Koln are in dire need of an upturn in results on the road.
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A loss at Partizan Belgrade in their last group outing could be fatal to their hopes of progressing through the group after they had already lost the reverse fixture in Germany a week earlier.
But either side of their defeat in Serbia, they were beaten 5-2 by Borussia Monchengladbach and 5-0 at Mainz.
Like Slovacko, Koln find themselves sitting in 10th domestically, and back-to-back defeats in Europe means two wins could be necessary to see them having any chance of qualifying from Group D in this competition.
Sorting out their defence will be paramount if they are to accomplish that, as they have conceded a staggering 14 goals in their last four matches.
If Slovacko win 2-0, 3-1 or by a three-goal margin or greater, then Koln will be eliminated from Europe on Thursday night.
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Team News
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Svedik should be able to choose from a fully fit squad as there are no known injury concerns or suspensions for Slovacko here.
There are a few veterans within the squad who have vast European experience which may be utilised again for this crucial fixture.
Michal Kadlec, now 37, spent five seasons with Bayer Leverkusen, playing in the top two UEFA competitions, as well as facing Koln regularly in the Bundesliga in Rhineland derbies.
Libor Kozak was the Europa League top scorer back in 2012-13, while Milan Petrzela enjoyed 11 years at European regulars Viktoria Plzen, and now at 39, continues to be a regular starter.
Steffen Baumgart has a lengthy injury list to deal with at present for Koln, as Sebastian Andersson (knee), Julian Chabot (sprained ankle) and Tim Lemperle (ankle) will not return until next month.
Luca Kilian's red card at the weekend means he will be suspended for their next Bundesliga fixture, so should still start here.
Jan Thielmann could return soon though as he has been out for three weeks with a virus.
Dejan Ljubicic will not be back until after the World Cup, though, as the Austrian recovers from a medial ligament issue, while Dimitrios Limnios is out indefinitely with an ACL rupture.
FC Slovacko possible starting lineup:
Nguyen; Tomic, Hofmann, Kadlec, Kalabiska; Kohut, Havlik, Danicek; Petrzela, Mihalik, Doski
FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Schwabe; Schmitz, Hubers, Kilian, Hector; Skhiri, Martel, Duda; Maina, Tigges, Kainz
We say: FC Slovacko 2-3 FC Koln
Despite a mix of results recently for both sides, they have not been shy in front of goal, and the reverse fixture saw Koln win 4-2 at the RheinEnergieStadion.
Koln know that a heavy defeat will see them eliminated, so they must go out with an attacking mentality to ensure the Czech debutants do not stun them in Uherske Hradiste.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
