Slavia are on the easternmost place of the Europa League
28.9.2017, Redakce
ASTANA - Slavia have arrived to the easternmost point of the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League. The game in Kazakh capital of Astana will be their second in the Group A. So far the red & whites have 3 points after defeating Maccabi on MD1, Astana remaining with no points after a 1-3 defeat in Villarreal.
Slavia moved to Astana already on Tuesday because of 5-hour long flight and 4 more hours of time difference. Players still continue in their “Central European” regime which means having breakfast at 12 am local time atc. The game is played on Thursday at 9 pm local time, which means at 5 pm CET.The evening temperatures in Astana could be below zero which means that the stands and the artificial pitch in Astana Arena will be covered by retractable roof. The temperature inside should be between 10 and 15 degrees.
“We do not mind the weather, but the artificial grass is not really comfortable for us. But we are having some training and we have to get used to,” Slavia midfielder Ruslan Rotaň says.
“Astana are regularly playing European competitions, they have beautiful stadium here, so it will not be an easy game for us. We know that Villarreal is favourite of our group, but each team will compete for the first place and each team can win it,” Ukrainian international added.
“There is nothing easy ahead. Astana have very strong and experienced team and they dominate the Kazakh league. They are strong in their counterattacks and perform great combination game. Astana have more experience in Europe than we have, they are winning their home games in Europa League as well. We have been watching their game in Villarreal and they did not play as an outsider at all,” manager Jaroslav Šilhavý says.
“Astana have zero points so far and they weill try to seize some against us. We respect their strengths and we know they do not lose at home but we are not afraid. Maybe even one point could be enough for us, let’s see how will the game go,” Šilhavý added.
