RAJNOCH’S GLOSSARY: Sparta maintained a key lead before the derby. Slavia has a game of the season ahead of it, it has nowhere to turn

After the win in Hradec, Slavia stabilized the lineup, I would confirm the words of coach Trpišovský: the players who are valid for these matches are currently in increasing form. Miner came to Eden with a very mixed lineup. They still had two promising opportunities in the first half, but when they received a red card and made a substitution, they had no chance. I don’t want to say that Baník came to Prague to hand it over, but it was obvious that they already had the next match on their minds: the crucial battle with Mlada Boleslaví for the fourth place. The seamers played well, at pace, they were very dominant in the second half.

It’s no secret that I’ve had a soft spot for Ivan Schranz for a long time. Unfortunately for him, he labored often with injuries during the spring, he did not jump regularly. But it can be seen that in the current state of mind he is one of the key players of the Trpišovský team. Its immense advantage is universality, and it is also productive.

David Zima does not belong to the regular lineup of the red and white team. Even in the duel with Ostrava, when Slavia played with three stoppers, he did not fit into the starting line-up. At the end of the regular season, a couple of matches did not go well with the sewn ones, and it was Zima and Zafeiris who took it away. Of course, I can’t see inside the team, there might be some health problem, but even considering Trpišovský’s statement after the match in Hradec, I don’t think so.

Pilsen beat Boleslav in a dry trick. The performance of the Central Bohemians reminded me a lot of that of Baník: it was as if both teams were saving up for a duel. Viktorka basically doesn’t play for anything in the league anymore, so I was a little worried about how she would approach it. After all, our players are sometimes prone to underestimating or omitting something. But Miroslav Koubek did not admit that. Pilsen mainly performed in the first half, they gave a really great performance. After David Holoubek intervened, Boleslav also joined West Bohemia. Pilsen’s players, perhaps knowing that they can now play completely without pressure, got in excellent shape and you can see it on the field.

The trio Hranáč, Šulc, Chorý have a great chance to be nominated for the Euro. You can be sure that all three will go all out every game until the end of the season. Participation in the final tournament is a strong driving force. From the Plzeň squad, Jedliček and Kalvach could still be considered for the national team, but I don’t give either of them much of a chance.

I would say that Sparta has definitely gotten out of the spring crisis it was in for a while. It is logical that a blanket will fall on you, no one can last a whole season with mechanical precision. It is enough to look at the team that sent Sparta into crisis: Liverpool is also not doing well now and has lost three trophies in a few weeks. So it’s not just the fate of the Prague S, it happens to absolutely everyone.

Sparta played fantastically in the first half, nobody would be surprised if they scored even more goals. Slovácko managed to reduce the difference to only one goal twice. In those moments, Sparta experienced difficult moments, especially after the goal to make it 2:3. The team from Uherské Hradiště put two towers on the tip. Something can always fall there, but the Spartans coped well with it. The win is deserved.

The attacking trident of Haraslín-Kuchta-Birmančevič is pulling Sparta to defend its title. All three have excellent movement, bounce well into the gaps and are unreadable. If I add to that that they are in the form of Sadílek and Kairinen, who are excellent complements behind them, then Sparta is gaining a big lauf at the end of the season.

The group was also played for the rescue, all three home teams grabbed the victory. It is not a complete surprise, both Budějovice and Pardubice with Jablonec took advantage of the familiar environment. I would start with Dynamo who beat Bohemians. The South Bohemians confirmed their spring campaign for rescue. Under coaches Lerch and Kladrubský, they made great progress as far as the lower part of the league table is concerned, so they are the biggest surprise for me. All the more so when we consider what happened in Budějovice after the end of autumn.

In the setup of the second half, Trummer decided on three points for Dynamo with a beautiful shot from behind the goal. It will be a big boost especially for the psyche, the Budějovics will breathe a lot better if they are not looking at the league peloton from the very bottom. With four laps to go, this could be an all-important boost. They are well on their way to rescue, the desire for preservation can be felt from them.

Pardubice managed the match with Zlín and it looks like they will not repeat last year’s participation in the play-off. Again and again I have to appreciate the work of Radoslav Kováč. He knows what he is doing, the players are growing under him and even though he has the youngest squad in the league, he is not afraid to play football even under the enormous pressure that the threat of relegation undoubtedly poses. After a long time, the East Bohemians managed to win at home, on the contrary, Zlín continues to sink, in recent weeks he has not been able to score points regularly and he has extremely demanding weeks ahead of him.

Karviná lost three points at the end of the duel in Jablonec, that will be a big regret. First, the North Bohemians tied the score at 2:2 in the 89th minute, Náprstek put the final nail in the Karvina coffin in the setup with their first league goal. Slešané may already have seen themselves on the bus with three points in their pocket, but with this collapse they made the fight for the playoff extremely complicated. On the contrary, Látala’s team made a vigorous move to rescue them and they can now be quite sure that they will not be involved in the play-off.

On paper, the playoff may involve all six teams, but in reality I see it only for the last three + Pardubice. But I believe in Kováč’s team this year, they make the best impression on me from the last four teams. Zlín will travel to Karviná at the weekend. A match for six points, which can indicate a lot in the direction of direct relegation.

Hradec beat Olomouc in the opening semi-final of the group for Europe. The Invaders just confirmed their upward performance under coach Horejš, especially in the defensive direction. I don’t think that Olomouc should somehow attack Hana and reverse the course of the doubleheader, but I certainly wouldn’t say that it has already been decided.

I see the duel for the “King of the North” between Teplice and Liberec as far more balanced. And that despite the fact that the glassmakers managed to win at home by two goals. Slovan didn’t perform badly, he just couldn’t solve the final phase correctly. He certainly presented himself better than in the spring game, where he fell exactly 0:2. Luboš Kozel announced at the post-match press conference that he is ending the season on the North Bohemian bench, but I think he will do his best together with his team to get past Teplice. I have a feeling that they will succeed because they are very strong in their home stadium.

Slavia will present themselves at Letná on Saturday and it will be the match of the season for them. She’s kind of pushed into a corner, she has nothing to calculate anymore, she has to win without fail. But Sparta must be careful, because Slavia has already shown many times that they can play these big matches, they can prepare for them. It will be a game that the entire football public should look forward to, and I believe that the picture of the game will be different from the past two league derbies. I don’t even want to go back to the autumn one, and the spring one was tactically extremely tied up, almost unwatchable.

It will be a great battle of strategies. Slavia will have no choice but to attack. Sparta is in a different position, they can approach the match like last year’s superstructure derby, when they hid a lot and basically just defended, but they got the necessary result. However, I don’t think Priske will choose the same tactic. In that year, Sparta has moved a lot, they have great quality at the top. I will go to see the derby in person and I believe I will see great football.

I’m also looking forward to the World Cup of Hockey, which starts on Friday. I’m glad that people go to football and hockey, even the extra-league season had great attendance, which is an excellent business card for clubs, and so on. I would like to wish our hockey players good luck, may they withstand the enormous pressure. In the words of the legendary coach Ivan Hlinka: “Don’t worry about it…” The same applies to the end of the football league…