Arsenal visit Slavia Prague at Fortuna Arena seeking a 10th straight win across competitions in their Champions League league phase match. The Gunners boast an unbeaten record against Czech teams and a dominant 4-0 victory over Slavia in the 2020/21 Europa League. Slavia, level atop the Czech league, enter with five consecutive clean sheets.
Arsenal head into Tuesday's Champions League clash at Fortuna Arena targeting an eighth successive league phase win and extending their run of over 11 hours without conceding. The English Premier League leaders have won eight and drawn two against Czech opponents, including a 4-0 thrashing of Slavia in the 2020/21 Europa League semi-final qualification. Manager Mikel Arteta emphasized maintaining momentum after a 2-0 Premier League victory at Burnley, stating, “We’ve got to take that belief, energy and courage and understand, especially, the things that we should have done better in the second half. On Tuesday is another one and on Saturday [away to Sunderland] is another one. The games are coming thick and fast.”
Slavia Prague, the reigning Czech champions, sit level on points with Sparta Prague after a 2-0 home win over Banik Ostrava, marking their fifth clean sheet in a row across competitions. Defender Tomas Vlcek scored his first goal since August 2022 in the 55th minute against Banik. Manager Jindrich Trpisovsky praised Arsenal as “currently the best team in the world,” adding, “They certainly have the best set pieces. They have developed incredibly since we last played them... I heard that no-one has had a shot on their goal in about five games. They have world-class players in every position.”
Team News
Slavia face absences including winger Ivan Schranz (muscular), centre-backs Jan Boril (unspecified), Igoh Ogbu (thigh) and Tomas Holes (knee), with long-term knee injuries to left-back Dominik Javorcek and midfielder Petr Sevcik. Youssoupha Mbodji is doubtful (unspecified), while goalkeeper Jindra Stanek and David Doudera are available. Trpisovsky noted, “It’s almost unbelievable,” of his depleted squad, crediting the available players.
Arsenal will miss Gabriel Martinelli (knock), who has scored in all three Champions League games this season, Viktor Gyokores (muscular niggle after a strong half against Burnley), and knee-injured players Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus. Midfielder Martin Zubimendi is suspended. Arteta hopes some return after the November international break, saying, “After that, I think we’ll have some back... but we’ll be quite close by then.” Predicted lineups vary, but Arsenal are heavy favorites for a 2-0 win per previews, despite Slavia's strong European home scoring record.
Kick-off is at 17:45 GMT, with coverage on TNT Sports 1 in the UK. Recent stats show low-scoring trends for both: Slavia's last seven matches under 3.5 goals, Arsenal's last 10 under 3.5.
