Latest
Match preview

Slavia Prague face daunting Arsenal test to avert unwanted Champions League record

Slavia Prague host Arsenal in the Champions League as a 23-game winless streak threatens to become the longest in the competition's history.

By , Sports writer

· 2 min read

Champions League
Champions League (file photo) Photo: IvanchukW / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Slavia Prague host Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Czech side have won only one of 23 games in the competition and face a record-equalling 24th winless match.

Key takeaways

  • Slavia Prague host Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday.
  • Slavia have won one of 23 Champions League games, against Steaua Bucharest in September 2007.
  • AEK Athens hold the record with 24 straight winless games from 1992 to 2006.
  • Slavia lost 3-2 to Lens after leading 2-1 in the 89th minute despite playing with 10 men.
  • Slavia have faced Arsenal three times, with one draw and two losses, including a 7-0 defeat in London in 2007.

Slavia Prague host Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday, as NDTV Sports reported. The Czech champions are trying to end a long winless run in the competition while an unwelcome record looms.

Slavia have won a single game out of 23 in the Champions League, according to NDTV Sports. Their only victory came on their debut against Steaua Bucharest in September 2007.

Since then they have managed eight draws and 14 losses across four campaigns, including the current one. Record holders AEK Athens failed to win 24 straight games from 1992 to 2006, while Steaua, now FCSB, recorded 23 winless games between 2006 and 2013.

Slavia were close to breaking the hoodoo in this year's opener against Lens. Reduced to 10 men, they took a 2-1 lead in the 89th minute but lost 3-2.

Slavia have faced Arsenal three times in the Champions League, recording a draw and two losses, including a 7-0 drubbing in London in 2007.

Slavia host Arsenal fresh off the back of their 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, before Villarreal at home and Bayern Munich away in their next European games, NDTV Sports reported.

Manager and former player reaction

Of course the longer it gets, the more unpleasant it is, said Jindrich Trpisovsky, the Slavia manager since 2017. The streak is long and as we keep talking about it, I brood over it more than in the past, he added.

Of course we know how tough European games are and how hard you must work to win, said Trpisovsky. In some games we were on the front foot and we got beaten. This is the beauty of football.

Slavia simply face the best teams whose quality is obvious, said Vladimir Smicer, a former Slavia striker who won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005. That's bad luck really.

But the streak is unpleasant in any case, said Smicer, who played for Lens from 1996 to 1999. And they are now facing teams like Arsenal and Bayern and these are games you don't expect Slavia to win.

Slavia should rather have beaten lower-ranked teams like Sabah to whom they lost 2-0 in Baku in October. Slavia has a deep roster so the coach can adapt to the playing style of their opponents, but in the end it's all about quality, he added.

In Baku they simply underperformed, like in some other games, and that extended the winless streak. There have been games they should have won but unfortunately it didn't happen.

Sources

Topics

Spotted an error? Read our corrections policy or use the flag button above. Our editorial standards explain how we report.

Discussion

Sign in or create a free account to join the discussion. Please follow our community guidelines.