Ferencvaros vs Slavia Prague

Slavia Prague head to the Groupama Arena to take on Ferencvaros in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League qualifying tie.

The hosts have won all four Champions League qualifiers via an aggregate scoreline of 11-2, ousting the likes of Prishtina and Zalgiris in the process. Particularly relentless on home soil, the reigning Hungarian titleholders have won both qualifying home legs by over 1.5 goals ‘to nil.’ Filled with confidence after accruing eight victories in nine competitive fixtures (L1), Ferencvaros head into proceedings in high spirits despite a 2-1 home defeat to domestic rivals Kisvarda over the weekend. Before that reverse, the ‘Green Eagles’ had been unbeaten in seven straight home matches across all competitions (W6, D1). During that sequence, they scored 17 goals while conceding just four in return. Overcoming Slavia will be an uphill task, but it would see Ferencvaros reach successive Champions League group stages since the new format was introduced in 1991.

In the meantime, Slavia Prague’s imperious run towards the league title in 2020/21 enabled them to start the qualifying series from the third round. A commanding 3-1 away win over domestic rivals Teplice last time out stretched Slavia’s undefeated run in all competitions to 13 games (W10, D30, a streak they embarked on following a horror 4-0 home loss to Arsenal in last season’s Europa League knock-outs. Not afraid to take over the reins from the get-go, the Czech Republic giants have netted the opener in three of their previous five away Champions League fixtures, albeit picking up just one win from thereafter (W1, D1, L1). Though they’ve never traveled to Hungary before, the visitors are riding high after avoiding defeat in all 19 competitive trips this calendar year (W13, D6).