“We have two question marks. We’ll see according to the current situation,” assistant coach Pavel Horváth said after the final warm-up duel with Molde (a 2-0 win). Plzeň’s defense is not completely clear. They cannot count on captain Hejda and even the injured Mohamed Tijani and Radim Řezník. Uncertainty reigns with commitment Václav Jemelka (he underwent a difficult shoulder operation after the fall), although he played thirty minutes in the general season. The most likely composition of the defensive line? Holík – Pernica – Kaša – Havel.
“In defense, it’s about health. We have five stoppers, if they are fit everything will be ok. We may have a small problem on the edges of the defense,” pointed out coach Michal Bílek. The biggest unknown is in the midfield, where Roman Květ was added, who scored nine goals in the league for Bohemians Prague in the fall. Bílek put him in a position under the striker in preparation, which is new for the former Klokan. In addition, he has a lot of competition in the representative Adam Vlkanov, Erik Jirko and Jan Sýkor. However, the latter will miss Viktoria for some time due to a torn muscle.
“With the arrival of Květ, the quality of the backup improved a lot. He has excellent kicking technique, is ambidextrous and can be used in multiple positions. “He adapted quickly,” Bílek said. “Roman will definitely help us. Either as a player in the starting line-up or as a substitute,” Horváth added. So what might the backup look like against the Votroks? Kopic, Vlkanova and Mosquera will most likely operate before the obligatory pair of Bucha – Kalvach.
The biggest reinforcement of the league leader is striker Matěj Vydra. The man with more than 100 starts in the Premier League, who has not played since the end of April due to cruciate ligament surgery in his knee, will probably not play in the spring premiere. “Of course, we would like Matěj to be fit and ready to play. This is not the case yet, but that day is coming,” Horváth said.
“Matej actually started from the beginning since his arrival. I would like him to be healthy as soon as possible, to come as a backup. In game training sessions, you can see that he is experienced, goal-scoring, strong,” Bílek added. Due to Jan Kliment’s injury, he only has two 100% healthy forwards available – Tomáš Choré and reinforcement from Karviná, 20-year-old Nigerian Rafio Durisinmi.
The sick man will be in the starting line-up, but Durisinmi’s turn may also come. In the fall, Bílek successfully used the game with two spikes (mostly Chorý – Kliment). “I can imagine both of them playing. Rafiu is young, fast, he is strong in fights. When all the guys are healthy, we’ll have four great forwards. So he offers to play in the front with two spikes. It worked for us last season and in the fall,” said Bílek.
