Poland need a win to keep alive their chances of qualifying for next year’s European Championship as they host Czech Republic in a Group E fixture. The Poles will be relying on home support and should have the edge over their visitors, who are not particularly convincing on their travels.
Poland have not been at their best in this campaign and are now in a desperate situation to keep alive their hopes of reaching next year’s competition in Germany. They not only need to win on Friday but are also relying on the result between Albania and Moldova.
The Poles head into Friday’s clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with Moldova in their previous qualifying fixture. They were made to come from behind with Karol Swiderski’s second half effort earning them a share of the spoils.
Although they would have preferred the win, that result extends Poland’s unbeaten run at home to four matches. Michal Probierz’s men have picked up three wins in that run, including a 1-0 victory over Germany in an international friendly.
Czech Republic are also not assured of a place at the European Championship as they sit second on the table, just a point above the Poles. They need a win on Friday and will also be relying on the result between Albania and Moldova.
The Czechs are coming off a 1-0 victory over Faroe Islands last time out in the qualifiers with Tomas Soucek’s second half penalty proving the difference. It was a vital win for Jaroslav Silhavy’s men, who had been winless in their previous three matches.
Czech Republic have also not been convincing on their travels in the qualifiers with just one win from three away matches. They suffered a 3-0 defeat to Group E leaders Albania in their previous away fixture in the qualifiers.
How the bookies view it
Poland have the edge among the bookies with a home win priced at 29/20 by William Hill. A victory for Czech Republic is valued at 9/4 by bet365 while a draw is set at odds of 11/5 by 888Sport.
Head to head
Czech Republic have a 5-4 advantage from nine previous matches against Poland. The Czechs picked up a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture back March.
Players to watch
As always, much of Poland’s hopes will be on captain Robert Lewandowski, who could be worth keeping an eye on in Friday’s clash. The striker has three goals in his last three appearances for the national team and is priced at 5/4 by Paddy Power to maintain his scoring run.
Czech Republic have also shown some attacking quality of their own and Jan Kuchta will be the one to watch on Friday. The forward was on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 10/3 by bet365 to find the net once again.
Anything else catch the eye?
Having produced over 3.5 in the reverse fixture, a similar outcome could be considered at 10/3 with Unibet. Over 2.5 goals is priced at 5/4 by Paddy Power while Coral is offering odds of 10/11 on both teams to score.
Poland have opened the scoring in three of their last four home matches and could be backed to grab the first goal on Friday at 20/21 with BoyleSports.
This Euro 2024 match between Poland and Czech Republic will be played on Nov 17, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Poland vs Czech Republic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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