Slavia seeks 15th attempt at first Champions League win — this time at home against Lens

Prague's Slavia will host French club Lens in the Champions League league phase. For coach Jindřich Trpišovský, this will be his 15th attempt to secure a win in Europe's elite tournament — so far his record stands at just 5 draws and 9 defeats in the main phase.

The Prague club last won a Champions League match back in 2007 under Karel Jarolím, when Slavia beat Steaua Bucharest 2:1. Since then, the team has suffered defeats against the likes of Inter Milan, Barcelona, Bodø/Glimt and Atalanta, having to settle for draws at best.

Treating it like a playoff match

"I always focus on what's right ahead. Right now my mind is on the match with Lens, though I'm already thinking a bit about Sunday's game in Teplice and then Varnsdorf — but after the Lens match there'll be a Champions League break. I'm treating this game like a playoff match. A great team is waiting for us. I want us to deliver the best possible result — for the fans who paid a lot of money for tickets," Trpišovský said.

Midfielder Michal Sadílek pointed to the strength of the opponent: Lens beat reigning French Super Cup holders PSG 1:0 at the start of the season. "We're playing against a very good team from the French league. We need to show a really strong result," the player emphasized.

Injury troubles and hope for Zima

For medical reasons, Slavia will be without Lukáš Provod, Tomáš Holeš, Igoh Ogbu, Mubarak Suleyman, David Moses, Adonia Oualid and Ange Ngessan. However, defender David Zima is expected to return to the squad after leaving Saturday's match against Zbrojovka Brno following a blow to the head from the ball.

"He's already joined the team. He looked good in training, but the decision will be made at the morning warm-up. If I had to guess, I'd say he'll be available," Trpišovský said about the defender's condition, adding with a smile: "He's almost always a bit out of it — it's hard to tell when that's actually the case and when it isn't." The coach stressed the player's importance to the team and noted that Zima's pace could prove useful against Lens' quick forwards.

Slavia hopes to perform better in this year's tournament than last season, when the club managed just three points. "The team's DNA remains the same. I believe this time we'll go into the matches healthy, unlike last year, when we played even against Inter while sick," Trpišovský said.

For simply taking part in the tournament, the club has already earned €18.62 million (around 450 million crowns). A win would bring an additional bonus of €2.1 million (51 million crowns), while a draw would add €700,000 (17 million crowns).

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Source: sport.cz