Chelsea vs Slavia Prague: Kick-off time, TV channel and how to stream Europa League quarter-final second leg
Slavia Prague travel to London to face Chelsea in their Europa League quarterfinal second leg on Thursday night.
Marcus Alonso’s late winner settled a tense affair in Prague a week ago.
Maurizio Sarri has played fringe players in Europe this season, so it’ll be interesting to see if Eden Hazard starts tonight.
The winner of this tie will face the winner of the Benfica vs Frankfurt tie – Benfica have a 4-2 lead from the first leg.
Here’s all the information you need to know:
When is the game and where do I watch it?
Chelsea vs Slavia Prague kicks-off at 8:00pm (BST) on Thursday 18 April.
The match is live on BT Sport 3, with coverage starting from 7:30pm.
Subscribers can stream the match via the BT Sport app.
And we will of course be providing live text coverage throughout this evening’s game on The Independent.
Team news
Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger, who started the first leg in Prague, is set to miss out.
The German international picked up a minor knee injury in Sunday’s defeat at Liverpool, and David Luiz is likely to deputise – there are no other injury concerns for the Blues.
For Slavia Prague, key player Tomas Soucek will return after missing out last time out due to suspension.
Predicted line-ups
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Luiz, Christensen, Alonso, Kovacic, Kante, Barkley, Pedro, Willian, Giroud
Slavia Prague: Kolar, Coufal, Ngadeu-Ngadjui, Deli, Boril, Traore, Soucek, Kral, Stoch, Masopust, Olayinka
Odds
Chelsea: 3/10
Slavia Prague: 11/1
Draw: 9/2
Prediction
It was far from straightforward last week for Chelsea in Prague. A forward line which lacked rhythm and creativity, was only sparked into life when Eden Hazard entered the fray on the hour mark. From that moment, Chelsea looked more likely to score, and Alonso’s late away goal means it’s a tall order for the Czech side in London.
However, Sparta’s Europa League record this season would suggest that it is not inconceivable. They have won away at Copenhagen, Genk and drew at Sevilla in the last-16. Former Chelsea attacker Miroslav Stoch, who only appeared four times for the club in the 2008-09 season, will also be looking to impress on his return to Stamford Bridge.
In reality though, as long as they are mature in their play and professional in their set-up, Chelsea should advance to the semi-finals. Their strength in depth far outweighs the genuine quality Sparta can offer, and as it has all season, the Europa League gives fringe players such as Olivier Giroud, Ross Barkley and Andreas Christensen a chance to shine – Giroud is actually the competition’s top scorer.
A comfortable victory is expected, and demanded from a home crowd with one eye on the final in Baku at the end of May. 3-0 Chelsea.
