Our prediction for this Europa Conference League match:
Slovan Bratislava will look to seal their spot in the Conference League knockout stages when they take on Group F leaders Copenhagen at Parken Stadium. Since PAOK take on rock-bottom Lincoln Red Imps on Thursday evening, this has to go down as a must-win game for the Slovaks. A man to keep an eye on in the away team will be experienced midfielder Vladimir Weiss, who found the net in a 2-1 win over Moravce-Vrable at the weekend.
Copenhagen, on the other hand, secured top position in Group F thanks to a routine 4-0 win over Lincoln, and, as a result, head coach Jess Thorup is likely to rest key players against Slovan Bratislava. Anyhow, beating Copenhagen at Parken Stadium is easier said than done, and we are tempted to put our money on draw.
Highlighted Player (Karl-Johan Johnsson):
Born in Ranneslov (Sweden) on January 28, 1990 Karl-Johan Johansson started his youth career at his home-town club Ranneslovs GIF. In 2005 he joined Halmstadts and four years later he made his first-team debut for HBK. The 187-cm-tall goalkeeper made 67 appearances in the league for Halmstads and in 2013 he signed for NEC as a free agent.
Karl-Johan Johnsson played 30 games for the Dutch club during the 2013/2014 Eredivisie campaign and in the summer of 2014 he moved to Randers. The Swedish shoot-stopper spent two seasons at Randers and in 2016 he moved to French club Guingamp. It has to be noted that he managed to keep nine clean sheets in 37 appearances for Guingamp in the 2016/2017 Ligue 1 campaign.
His contract with the club expires on June 30, 2020. Speaking of his international career, Karl-Johan Johnsson has 17 caps for Sweden U21 and he made his senior debut in 2012 against Qatar.
Highlighted Team (Slovan Bratislava):
Over the years Slovan Bratislava have established themselves as the most successful Slovakian club. The Belasi clinched their 13th domestic trophy in the 2018/2019 season, finishing the campaign 14 points clear of second-placed Zilina. Slovan Bratislava welcome their rivals at Tehelne pole, the stadium with the capacity of 22,500.
The Tehelne pole club wear white shirts and white shorts when playing at home, while blue is the dominant colour of their away kit. Spartak Trnava are regarded as the club’s fiercest rivals, but they hold the rivalry with DAC Dunajska Streda as well. There have always been fireworks in matches between Slovan and Inter Bratislava, especially when both teams were part of the Czechoslovak First League.
In the 1968/69 season Slovan Bratislava won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, with the team beating star-studded La Liga side Barcelona in the title game. It has to be noted that the likes of Cvetler, Hrivnak and Jan Capkovic scored for the Slovaks in the final of the European competition.