Paphos FC welcomes Slavia Prague to the Alpha Mega Stadium on Wednesday night for Gameweek, the final league stage of this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign.

The Light Brigade suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in their last European match, while Stitched lost 4-2 at home to Hansi Flick’s Barcelona.

match preview

Having lost just one of their first five Champions League games this season, Paphos have suffered defeats in their last two games, albeit away to Juventus and Chelsea.

Despite losing as expected at Stamford Bridge, there were a number of bright spots for the Cyprus team, who held on to their Club World Cup titles until Moisés Caicedo’s 78th-minute goal.

Albert Serades’ side still have a slim chance of finishing in the play-offs, but they will need a significant result and a win to have any advantage on Wednesday night.

Their involvement in Europe has taken a toll on the Light Brigade’s efforts in the Cyprus League, with 14 of the 17 points they have conceded so far coming just before or after midweek Champions League matches.

Paphos currently sit third in the Cyprus League, eight points below Omonia at the top of the table, although they have a game in hand over all other teams in their division.

© Imago / Michal Fajt

They are without a win in the Champions League this season, with only Villarreal and Kairat Almaty having fewer points than Slavia Prague, meaning they have no chance of progressing to the finals.

Despite taking an early lead against Barcelona at the Fortuna Arena last week, Jindrich Trpisovski’s side lost 4-2 to the Spanish giants, meaning they are without a win in their last 14 European matches and have lost in nine of them.

Stitched have struggled particularly in front of goal in the Champions League, with no other team in the competition having scored fewer than four goals this season.

Prior to the double against Flick’s side, Slavia Prague had not scored in their last five Champions League games, with Bodo/Glimt being the only team to concede a goal to the Czech team in this season’s competition.

Despite being on the back foot in Europe, Trpisovski’s side are thriving in Chance Liga, currently unbeaten and seven points behind fierce rivals Sparta Prague at the top of the table.

Since league play was suspended for the winter break on December 13, Stitched have also played three friendlies, winning against SK Brann, drawing against Karlsruher and losing to FC Basel.

Paphos FC Champions League form:

Paphos FC form (all matches):

Slavia Prague Champions League form:

Slavia Prague form (all competitions):

team news

© Imago / Marco Canoniello

Bosnian midfielder Ivan Sundjić will be suspended for Wednesday night’s game against Slavia Prague after receiving his third yellow card in the Champions League match against Chelsea.

Paphos defender David Luiz was on the bench against his former club Chelsea, but was doubted after being sent off after 12 minutes against Oru. Nicosia is suspected to have injured his knee two weeks ago.

It also remains to be seen whether defender Joao Correia and Goldard, who recently suffered muscle injuries, will play.

If Mislav Orsic is booked for Wednesday night, he will miss the first leg of a potential play-off match.

Despite having only played one competitive match in the past six weeks, Slavia Prague currently have an extensive injury list.

Thomas Halls and David Moses are likely to miss the game against Paphos after being substituted during the break in last week’s game against Barcelona.

The Czech side is also without Dominik Javorček, Petr Sevcik and Ondrej Cmurzli, all of whom have sustained serious injuries.

Alexander Buzek will miss Wednesday’s game due to a thigh injury sustained in November, while it remains to be seen whether Divine Tee and Samuel Isife will be able to return from their recent absences.

Expected starting lineup for Paphos FC:

Goter. Sema, Lucassen, Pireas. Bruno, Pepe, Quina, Jaja. Orsic, Dragomir, Anderson Silva

Slavia Prague’s starting lineup:

Stanek. Vlcek, Jima, Chaloupek. Dudera, Dory, Provod, Sadirek, Sanyo. choli, kuseji

Paphos FC 2-1 Slavia Prague

Considering they are playing in their debut Champions League match, Paphos can certainly be proud of having a chance to progress to the knockout phase.

Although the odds are not in their favor, the Cypriot side look to at least give themselves a chance by defeating a lackluster Slavia Prague side on Wednesday.

Click here for data analysis including the most likely outcome, scoreline and more for this match.