Slavia Prague are set to face the La Liga giants on match day 4 just a fortnight after impressing in a 2-1 loss at home to the same opposition but the Czech side’s coach Jindřich Trpišovský has revealed he won’t be surprised if things go awry for his men at the Camp Nou.
Nigeria international Peter Olayinka will hope to be restored to the starting lineup on Tuesday when Slavia face Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.
Olayinka was the hero for Slavia on match day 1 when he scored the opener at the San Siro as the Czech giants picked a valuable point against Inter Milan in a 1-1 draw. The one-cap Super Eagles star however netted an own goal that handed victory to Barcelona in Prague and he will be hungry for a chance to right that mistake.
He stands a chance, though especially with coach Jindřich Trpišovský adamant his side will not head to Camp Nou with the intention of parking the bus even at the risk of conceding a lot of goals against a Messi-inspired Barca.
“It will be baptism by fire but we are determined to play as we play at home,” Jindřich Trpišovský says.
“We will make everything to present ourselves in the same way as usual but there are always two armies on the pitch and it’s also about what the other army allows you and what can you make them do.
“It’s still a question how we can deal with quality of our opponent and with the environment here. But we want to stick to the game we are used to.
“It will be baptism by fire for us on Tuesday and we are determined to do maximum to play as we have played at home. It depends on how we start and if we dare to do the same things as we did at home.”
Barcelona suffered a cold 3-1 defeat at Levante at the weekend but the Slavia gaffer does not view it as a good message for his side.
“Barcelona will try to redeem the loss at Levante. It’s the Champions league game and no big club can afford to lose twice in a row. They will be careful after the defeat and they will try to do their best in front of their home crowd.”
When asked what would be the key to picking up a positive result at Barcelona, Jindřich Trpišovský responded:
“Quality and courage, those are two most important things. To be brave on the pitch and to play with the same mind we play at home. We must prove our quality in defensive as well as offensive play. When you make system or individual mistakes in such game, the opponent will certainly punish you.”
Barcelona are set to be without their Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez on Tuesday. The former Liverpool forward is expected to be out of action for up to three weeks, which is one less world class attacker to worry about for Jindřich Trpišovský, but the 43-year-old sees no cause for jubilation as the Catalan side have other quality forwards to take his place.
“We will see after the game if it was a good message (to not face Suarez). According to latest info he should be out for at least three weeks,” said Jindřich Trpišovský.
“He is a great player and for us it is positive that Barcelona will miss him in our penalty area. You can easily see that they understand each other very well with Messi and missing Suárez will be a small minus for them.
“But when he doesn’t play there is Fati or Dembélé and it’s no win in a lottery for us when Barca start them. Suárez not playing means another great player on the pitch.”
