Slavia Prague vs Lens - prediction, team news, lineups

By Oliver Thomas | 08 Sep 2026 16:30, Last updated: 08 Sep 2026 17:10

Lens travel to Fortuna Arena in Czechia to face Slavia Prague in their opening League Phase match of the 2026-27 Champions League on Thursday night.

The only previous encounter between these two sides came back in 1995-96 when Slavia secured a 1-0 aggregate win in the third round of the UEFA Cup.

Slavia Prague are competing in the Champions League proper for the second successive season and for just the fourth time in their history after retaining the Czech First League title in 2025-26, losing just one of their 30 matches and finishing eight points clear of rivals Sparta Prague.

Head coach Jindrich Trpisovsky has since overseen an unbeaten start to the new campaign, with his side taking 17 points from their opening seven top-flight games (W5 D2) to climb to the top of the table.

The Red and Whites enter continental action on the back of an emphatic 4-0 home victory against Brno last Saturday, a result that further highlighted a ruthless frontline to complement a defence that has conceded just five times domestically this term.

Slavia will be keen to carry over their strong domestic form to the European stage, as they bid to end their torrid 19-game winless run in the Champions League (D7 L12); their last victory in the competition dates back to September 2007 when they beat Steaua Bucharest 1-0 on home soil.

Trpisovsky’s side finished 33rd in the 36-team League Phase table last season after drawing three and losing five of their eight matches. Slavia can at least take confidence from the fact that they have won four of their last six encounters with French opposition (L2), which bodes well ahead of Thursday’s clash with Lens.

Like Slavia Prague, Lens are preparing for their fourth participation in the Champions League after 1998-99, 2002-03 and 2023-24 when they were eliminated in the group stage on each occasion.

Les Sang et Or surprised many when they secured second place in Ligue 1 last season, pushing title winners PSG to their limits, while they also lifted their maiden Coupe de France in May and have since followed that up with a Trophee des Champions triumph in August.

Dino Toppmoller is the new man in charge of Lens, succeeding Pierre Sage, and the German tactician has experienced a mixed start to the 2026-27 Ligue 1 campaign. A 5-2 opening-weekend win against Auxerre has since been followed by back-to-back defeats to Strasbourg (2-1) and Lorient (1-0), losing to the latter last Saturday.

Attention now turns to the Champions League for Lens, who enter Thursday’s contest unbeaten in their opening game across their last four major European campaigns, albeit drawing on all four occasions, while they have failed to score in only three of their 18 UCL group stage matches.

However, history suggests that Lens may struggle to grind out a positive result on the road, as they have failed to win any of their last 13 away games in major European competition (D5 L8) since a 4-2 success over Grodzisk in the UEFA Cup first round back in September 2005.

Slavia Prague duo Lukas Provod and David Zima are unlikely to feature on Thursday due to respective ankle and concussion issues, while Tomas Holes (unspecified) remain sidelined.

Mojmir Chytil has scored each of his four goals this term on home soil and the striker will be hoping to force his way back into the starting lineup at the expense of Tomas Chory, who netted a brace in last weekend’s win over Brno.

Left-back David Jurasek and winger Emmanuel Ayaosi both scored as substitutes last time out and will be pushing to earn a recall, while Michal Sadilek and Wiktor Nowak are the most likely duo to link arms in centre-midfield.

As for Lens, Maik Nawrocki (ACL), Jonathan Gradit (leg fracture), Samson Baidoo (leg), Nidal Celik (knee) and Jhoanner Chavez (thigh) all remain sidelined as they continue to recover from injury.

Meanwhile, Yacine Titraoui is a major doubt with a thigh injury sustained in the defeat to Lorient, and the same can be said for Matthieu Udol who will need to be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Captain Florian Thauvin has made a fine start to the new season, scoring four goals in as many games including three to open the scoring, and he is expected to continue in an advanced midfield role alongside Thorgan Hazard, while Abdallah Sima leads the line against his former club.

Jean-Clair Todibo was signed on loan from West Ham United during the summer window and could make his debut in a three-man backline alongside Ismaelo Ganiou and Kyllian Antonio.

Markovic; Chaloupek, N'Guessan, Zima; Isife, Sadilek, Nowak, Jurasek; Ayaosi, Chytil, Sturm

Risser; Todibo, Ganiou, Antonio; Aguilar, Haidara, Cuisance, Skoras; Thauvin, Hazard; Sima

Given that Slavia Prague are averaging three goals per game across their opening seven fixtures this term, and considering that none of Lens' 18 historical Champions League group-stage matches have ever finished goalless, an entertaining, end-to-end contest could be on the horizon in the Czech capital.

While the visitors boast the tactical flexibility to match the hosts' blistering frontline, there is ultimately very little to separate these two well-drilled outfits on paper, and a score draw could well be on the cards.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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