Slavia Prague vs Athletic Prediction 26 November 2025

🔈 Can the Spanish side live up to their status as favorites in the upcoming European clash? In the 5th round of the Champions League, the "Basques" face off against Slavia Prague. The Czech team is in excellent form, leading their national league standings. However, their lack of victories in Europe's premier club competition inevitably takes a psychological toll on the "Patchwork." Despite a significant difference in class, bookmakers are giving a slight edge to the visitors, anticipating a closely contested match filled with intensity.

Head-to-Head

📊 The teams faced off in last season's UEFA Europa League. During the group stage, the "Patchwork" narrowly lost to the "Basques" at San Mamés, falling 0-1. The standout performer of that encounter was Nico Williams, who scored in the 33rd minute. Can the Czechs settle the score on their home turf? We'll find out soon enough.

Slavia Prague Team Overview

⚪ The "Patchwork" team are showcasing elite class in their national league, aiming to retain the championship title by season's end. Currently, they lead the standings, two points clear of their closest rival. However, their Champions League campaign is less impressive, with just 2 points from 4 matches. They managed to secure points only against Bodø/Glimt (2-2) and Atalanta (0-0). Expectations are high for Jindrich Trpisovsky and his squad to give their all in the remaining European fixtures and fiercely compete for a playoff berth.

🔴 Over the weekend, Slavia triumphed on home turf against Bohemians (3-1). The club's tactical setup revolves around a formation with three central defenders. The full-backs' prowess and the team's penchant for quick transitions from defense to attack consistently yield positive results. Notably, Lukas Provod stands out as Slavia's top performer in the national league, boasting 3 goals and 6 assists. Whether the "Patchwork" can translate their confidence and cohesion from the First League into the upcoming Tuesday match remains to be seen.

Athletic Bilbao Team Overview

🔴 The "Red and Whites" are grappling with significant challenges this season. Ernesto Valverde often loses his composure, which impacts the players' mental state. In the domestic league, the Basques find themselves in a modest 8th place, trailing the Champions League spots by a hefty 11 points. Their performance in this year's premier European tournament is equally unconvincing, suffering three defeats in four matches. Their sole victory came against the tournament's clear underdog, Qarabag (3-1).

⚪ A series of tactical issues and poor form among the club's leaders were particularly evident in their recent clash with Barcelona (0-4) in the last round of La Liga. The Basques struggled to maintain compactness across their lines, and their attacking ideas faltered upon entering the opponent's half. A comparison of expected goals highlights this disparity: 1.99 to 0.8 in favor of Barça. Ernesto Valverde has yet to find the most effective player combinations, with a glaring gap in midfield proving a fundamental issue in building their attacks. The heavy reliance on talented but inexperienced academy players underscores these systemic difficulties.

Latest news

Slavia Prague

🎤 After their 3-1 victory over Bohemians in the latest round of the Czech championship, Jindřich Trpišovský addressed several questions from journalists: "First and foremost, we must thank the fans who were undeterred by the weather conditions. A huge thank you and immense admiration for being here and staying even after the match ended. This is the second consecutive game where we've been productive in transition phases and have defended our goal effectively. Thanks to fantastic commitment, we took the lead, even though the players' physical condition was far from ideal. In the second half, we changed our formation, which allowed us to gain more control over the ball and seize the initiative."

❌ Among the injured players for Prague's Slavia are Dominik Javorček (knee injury), Oscar Dorley (muscle injury), and Petr Ševčík (knee injury).

Athletic Bilbao

🎤 Following a heavy defeat last weekend, the pressure on Ernesto Valverde has intensified significantly. According to several Spanish sources, Atletico's management are actively searching for a suitable candidate to replace the Spanish coach, having lost faith in him. Valverde himself commented on the recent setback: “We need to reassess how we start matches. I believe we played well enough in the first half to challenge them and level the score. We made mistakes and paid dearly for them. We are dissatisfied with how we lost, but we must also know how to recover and handle such situations. The upcoming European clash with Slavia is a great opportunity to learn from our mistakes and start afresh.”

❌ In Atletico's injury list are Inaki Williams (groin injury), Marouane Sannadi (knee injury), Benat Prados (knee injury), Unai Eguiluz (knee injury).

🟨 Yellow Card Prediction

🟨 Yellow Card Prediction

The upcoming European clash will be officiated by Lithuanian referee Donatas Rumsas. Known for his lenient approach, Rumsas has averaged around 3.2 cautions per game over his last 10 matches. In fact, in 8 out of those 10 encounters, he issued no more than 4 yellow cards. A reasonable betting option would be total yellow cards under 4.5.

⚽ Goal Prediction

In 4 of Slavia's last 5 matches, at least 3 goals were scored. Looking at the average goal tally in the current Champions League campaign: Slavia are at 2.5, while the Basques stand at 3.3. Both teams are in desperate need of points to keep their playoff hopes alive, increasing the likelihood of an action-packed game. Our editorial pick is over 2 goals.

🚩 Corner Prediction

Throughout this Champions League season, both teams have been modest in earning corners: Slavia average 3.8, and Athletic also average 3.8. The Basques' injury woes have significantly impacted their wing play, while Slavia's tactical setup lacks natural wingers, contributing to the low number of corners. Our choice is total corners under 10.5.

At this moment, Athletic cannot be considered favorites against the strongest team in the Czech league. The Basques are dealing with fundamental tactical issues, and their injury woes only worsen the current situation at the club. The trip to Prague will be particularly challenging for Ernesto Valverde's side, who are under significant pressure. We believe the Patchwork team can secure some points here, and we predict a final score of 2-2. Our key pick is Slavia will not lose.