Can Viktoria Plzen finally upstage Slavia Praha?

Viktoria Plzen and Slavia Praha have been the top two teams in the Czech Republic over the last five seasons. However, Plzen have managed to win the league only once in the last four years. It came back in the 2017/18 season. Since then, Slavia has dominated the league.

Slavia Praha's European commitments

Slavia Praha are set to face Fenerbahce in the next round of the Europa Conference League. Given Fenerbahce's current form, they will hope to progress to the next round as well.

However, further European commitments will only stretch their resources to unwarranted burdens. Plzen, on the other hand, have no European participation to focus on. At the halfway stage, they sit two points behind Slavia and will hope to pounce on any mistake made by Slavia.

Injuries and Covid absentees for the leaders

Slavia's hectic schedule poses a serious threat to their player availability. Star centre-back Ondrej Kudela is out due to an ankle injury. Czech forward Jan Kuchta is also out of the team.

However, their biggest setback came earlier in October when their captain and wing-back Jan Boril suffered a knee fracture. He is expected to return in April 2022.

Plzen, on the other hand, also has its own list of injuries and suspensions. However, they are aided by the fact that they don't have any European competitions to aggravate their situation.

Plzen's recruitment puts them in firm contention

Viktoria Plzen's summer recruitments has made the league even more competitive.

The arrival of Ondrej Mihalik from AZ Alkamar and winger Ba Loua from Dallas FC have bolstered their ranks up front. They have already found the back of the net thirty-six times already with half the season left to play.

Plzen's recent run

Plzen went on a fantastic run at the start of the season where they won six out of their seven league outings. At that stage they led Slavia by two points. However, following a 2-0 defeat to Slavia, they conceded the top slot. They currently sit just two points off Slavia and are unbeaten in their last six.

Plzen will hope that Slavia's Conference League participation, coupled with their pliling injuries, will open the doors for them to recapture the Czech title.