- Head-to-head: Plzen have won two of the last three meetings with Liberec and drawn the other.
- Form: Liberec have lost their last five games on the spin, a very bad run for the visitors.
- Home form: Plzen are averaging 2.33 goals scored and 1.33 goals conceded at home across all competitions.
Plzen can take early advantage
Odds & form
Plzen are the market favorites at 1.61 for Saturday's opening fixture of the 2026-27 1. Liga campaign against Liberec, and there is a feeling of inevitability about it given the visitors' current form. Slovan have been in a downward spiral of late, losing their last five matches, so the 4.73 odds on the away win is simply too good to pass up. Plzen are in average form at best themselves, with one win, two draws and two defeats in their last five, but they have a much stronger recent record against Saturday's opponents, winning two of their last three and drawing the other.
Recent results
Their defeat at home to Sparta Prague (0-2) and loss away to Jablonec (2-1) were the last two legs of that five-match losing streak, but the first three results were better – a 3-0 away loss to Slavia Prague in the 1. Liga – Championship Group 2026, a 1-1 home draw with FC Copenhagen in a friendly and a 3-5 defeat at home to BSC Young Boys Bern in another friendly.
Playing style
Martin Hyský's Plzen side have been built on a solid foundation with plenty of structure, compactness and the ability to control the ball and pick their moments to press. Hyský's side are a possession-based unit with a good structure for the counter-attack, but they can be vulnerable if their opponents are direct enough to get in behind and Liberec can be such a side.
Liberec will try to be direct and fast
Radoslav Kovac has been in charge of Liberec since 1 July 2024 and he has moulded this team into a side that will push wide to stretch the defense and play a quicker vertical game. They don't look to dominate the ball as much as Plzen and there will be some interesting tactical aspects to watch on Saturday.
But if Plzen can control the pace of the game and win the transition battle, which they should, then they can edge this one.
- Liberec have scored in four of their last five away games across all competitions, so there is a chance that they can nick a goal on the counter-attack if they are not caught out in transition.
- Plzen's recent home record reads three wins, one draw and two defeats while Liberec have one win and four defeats away, which is a bad omen for the travellers here.
- Plzen have won two of the last three H2H meetings and are likely to do so again here, but we'll take the game to go over 2.5 goals at 1.82 in what should be a good, competitive matchup in Czechia.
