Slavia Praha vs LASK: UEFA Europa Conference League background, form guide, previous meetings

Slavia Praha's 13th match in an eventful 2021/22 continental campaign brings them a first meeting with LASK as they host the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 tie against a team with a flawless record on the road in Europe this season.

• Slavia, who have played in all three European club competitions this term, came through their UEFA Europa Conference League group in second place behind Feyenoord, finishing on eight points, one more than Union Berlin, then posted two 3-2 wins against Fenerbahçe to progress through the knockout round play-offs.

• LASK registered more points and conceded fewer goals than any other team in the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage, winning five of their matches – all with clean sheets – and drawing the other, 1-1 at home to runners-up Maccabi Tel-Aviv, to top Group A by five points.

Previous meetings
• Slavia's one previous contest with Austrian opposition was a 2-1 aggregate victory against Sturm Graz (1-0 a, 1-1 h) in the preliminary round of the 1995/96 UEFA Cup, in which they went on to reach the semi-finals.

• LASK's two previous ties with Czech sides had contrasting fortunes, a victory over Baník Ostrava in the 1985/86 UEFA Cup first round (2-0 h, 1-0 a) preceding a defeat by Příbram in the 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup second round (1-1 h, 2-3 a).

Form guide
Slavia
• Slavia went through the entire domestic 2020/21 season unbeaten to win a Czech league and cup double, and also enjoyed a lengthy run in the UEFA Europa League, reaching the last eight for the second time in three seasons, where they lost to Arsenal having previously overcome two other British clubs, Leicester City and Rangers, in the knockout phase.

• This European campaign, however, did not start off well for Jindřich Trpišovský's side with defeats in both qualifying ties – against Ferencváros in the UEFA Champions League and Legia Warszawa in the UEFA Europa League play-offs. That meant a switch to the UEFA Europa Conference League, where they won two, drew two and lost two of their group games, a vital 1-1 draw in Berlin on Matchday 6 enabling them to qualify as Group E runners-up at hosts Union's expense, albeit six points in arrears of section winners Feyenoord. New signing Yira Sor scored twice in the second leg of their 6-4 aggregate defeat of Fenerbahçe in the knockout round play-offs.

• Slavia have lost just one of their last 13 European matches in Prague (W7 D5) – 0-4 to Arsenal in last season's UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg – and are unbeaten at home in this continental campaign (W4 D2).

LASK
• LASK's fourth successive season of UEFA competition has brought them undefeated into the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16. Fourth in the 2020/21 Austrian Bundesliga, and also domestic cup runners-up to champions Salzburg, they reached the group stage of the new European competition via qualifying successes against Vojvodina (1-0 a, 6-1 h) and St Johnstone (1-1 h, 2-0 a). Under new head coach Andreas Wieland they then cruised through Group A, doing the double over both HJK Helsinki (2-0 a, 3-0 h) and Alashkert (3-0 a, 2-0 h) and securing top spot with a game to spare thanks to a 1-0 win in Tel-Aviv.

• LASK have appeared in the UEFA Europa League group stage in each of the past two seasons, going on to reach the round of 16 as section winners in 2019/20 but finishing third behind Tottenham Hotspur and Antwerp in 2020/21. They are bidding to reach the quarter-finals of a major European competition for the first time.

• The team from the Danube city have won their last seven European away fixtures, the five this season all with clean sheets.

UEFA Europa Conference League squad changes
Slavia
In: Mads Emil Madsen, Yira Sor (Baník Ostrava), Maksym Talovierov (Dynamo České Budějovice)
Out: Jan Boříl, Ubong Ekpai (Baník Ostrava, loan), Christian Fülöp, Jan Kuchta (Lokomotiv Moskva), Ladislav Takács

LASK
In: Oumar Sako (Beroe Stara Zagora), Filip Twardzik (Spartak Trnava)
Out: Lukas Grgić (Hajduk Split), Mamoudou Karamoko (Copenhagen), Christoph Monschein

Links and trivia 
• Slavia's Danish defender Mads Emil Madsen joined the club from LASK last summer, having made 32 appearances in all competitions and scored one goal for the Austrian side.

• LASK's new January signing Filip Twardzik was born in the Czech Republic and has played in his homeland for Vítkovice (2017/18) and Karviná (2020).

• Slavia coach Trpišovský led Slovan Liberec to victory against Austrian club Admira Wacker in the third qualifying round of the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League (2-1 a, 2-0 h). Current Slavia player Petr Ševčík appeared in both legs for Liberec.

• Slavia are one of two reigning domestic champions participating in the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout round play-offs, the other Norwegian title holders Bodø/Glimt. They are also one of three domestic cup holders in the field, alongside Leicester City and PAOK.

• Slavia beat city rivals Sparta Praha 2-0 at home on Sunday to move level on points at the top of their domestic league table with Viktoria Plzeň. LASK, however, are down in eighth place in the Austrian Bundesliga.