Renowned manager and expert Viacheslav Zakhovailo shared his thoughts on the Europa League qualifying matches between Slavia Prague and Dnipro-1.
Vyacheslav Zakhovailo- First of all, it should be said that Slavia Prague is a rather formidable opponent. The club has a history, traditions, very aggressive and loyal fans who will be charging to the fullest in the first match. Most likely, the stands of the Fortuna Arena stadium will be packed to the brim. There will be a full house. The home-field factor makes Prague favourites in the first game. If we talk about the confrontation in general, I would give a 60-40 percentage in favour of the Prague team.
Jindřich Trpišovský has been coaching Slavia for the fifth season in a row and during this time the style he tries to instil in his players has not changed. Therefore, having analysed the Prague team's games in detail and chosen the right tactics for the game, Dnipro are well placed to create a surprise in the form of a victory in the Czech capital. Dnipro should definitely not be afraid of Slavia. The coaching staff needs to clearly analyse and understand the style of play of the Prague team. Pressure, vertical football. However, there are problems when playing from defence to attack or vice versa. Defenders often make mistakes. This is what we should focus on. "Dnipro-1 must catch Slavia on the counterattack.
I think Dnipro-1 will play defensively. It seems logical. "Slavia, on the other hand, will most likely play from the knife. They will try to quickly break down the Dnipro defence. If Dnipro-1 doesn't sag, plays compactly, is better at rebounding near the penalty area, and can create and implement one or two quick counterattacks, then Kucher's team has a chance of a good result, not losing in the first place, in the first game. "Slavia are far from perfect today.
Dovbyk's move to Girona? If your arm is cut off, will it affect your health and strength? The answer is obvious. The loss of Dovbyk for Dnipro-1 is like an arm amputation for a healthy person. It's a huge problem for Oleksandr Kucher. It will be extremely difficult to find a worthy replacement for this player. In the situation with Dovbyk's transfer, only the club won because it received a decent financial reward. Although no one has named the official amount. There is definitely a clause in the contract with a percentage of Artem's further transfers in favour of Dnipro-1.
It is very difficult for me to say what the tactics of the Dnipro-1 coaching staff will be for the game, because I am not able to watch the games of Dnipro and other Ukrainian clubs in the domestic championship, the Ukrainian Premier League, in the Czech Republic. Like Dnipro-1, Slavia lost its leader, full-back David Jurasek, in the summer, so the Prague coach has his share of headaches. His colleague, Dnipro-1 coach Oleksandr Kucher, should also take advantage of this. "Jindřich Trpišovský is trying to practice total football. I used the prefix a la for a reason, because his players are not very good at playing total football. Nowadays, Slavia play mostly in a 3-4-3 formation. Previously, one of Slavia's trump cards was standard positions, but now the team does not really stand out. It is also worth saying that the level of the Czech First League is now higher than the level of the Ukrainian Premier League, unfortunately. The reasons are clear to everyone. The war, first of all, as well as the clubs' budget cuts and the outflow of legionnaires.
I remember how many Ukrainian players complained about the dominance of legionnaires in the UPL. Now there are practically none. And what? Has the level of Ukrainian footballers risen? Where are our promising players? Where are the stars? Talking is not carrying sacks. It turns out that it was at the expense of foreigners that Ukrainians raised their level. And now there is no competition and that's it. Only a few stars are shining. Dovbyk, for example. As for Slavia's clear-cut leaders, there are none. The team is balanced in all lines. Full-back David Jurasek moved to Benfica this summer. He is a very good player. He was a key performer for Slavia in the attacking line. He was excellent at flank diagonals. Nowadays, there is no such individually strong player in Jindřich Trpišovský's team.
And so... There is also Mick van Buren, who is actually a veteran of Slavia. He's a fairly straightforward player, fast, but it's not a given that he'll be in the starting line-up against Dnipro-1. There is no need to talk about Ukrainians Maksym Taloverov and Taras Kacharaba. They are not currently in the first team. Jindřich Trpysovski does not trust Taloverov, and Kacharaba is unstable. It is also worth paying attention to the style of play of winger Vaclav Juraček. He has a great long-range shot, so you need to be very careful with him on the edge of the penalty area.
Prediction: In the first game, Slavia will most likely win, but Dnipro-1 should score. So, my prediction is 2-1," Zakhovailo said.
