The Czech Republic and Bulgaria meet on Friday evening at 19:45 in the third round of the European Championship qualifying rounds in 2020. The “Generali Arena” match in Prague is not as unbalanced as the odds show, and the Bulgarians have a good chance of a draw.
The two bands have a hard job in the Qualifying Group A, where England is a far-fetched favorite. Bulgaria is second in the group, after two draws in the first two matches, while the Czechs have one match played – a 0-5 defeat on Wembley, with the English. The group also includes Kosovo and Montenegro, who have little skill hopes.
It is remarkable that Bulgaria comes after four identical consecutive results! The white-green band drew 1-1 with Cyprus and Slovenia in the UEFA Nations League, but also with Montenegro and Kosovo in the preliminaries of the EU 2020. Without having a batch of stars, as in the time of Dimitar Berbatov, the Bulgarians are a homogeneous group worker, who defends with ambition. The Czechs will have trouble breaking down this opponent who comes to think of at least one draw in this move. At present, the difference in value between the two teams is small.
The Czech Republic has had good performances with Poland (1-0, friendly match) and Slovakia (1-0, League of Nations), but has not made claims with England (0-5) and Brazil (1-3), the last being a gala test for Europeans. Pavelka opened the score for the Czechs in front of Brazil (’37), but Firmino (49) and Jesus (’83 and ’90) fired the match for the South Americans on March 26. At this point, both Bulgarians and Czechs have defensive defenses, which will urge both selectors cautiously before a decisive match for 2nd place in the group.
The Czech Republic won four of the previous five direct duels with Bulgaria, managed to escape without a goal received in three rows. It’s fair, the organization seems to be even better this time for the hosts who won 1-0 in the last direct duel, even in Sofia. The match mattered for the CM 2014 qualifiers, and Dockal’s goal (’52) decided the match in the preliminaries. We expect again that the Czechs will be slightly superior, but we will also risk a brighter bet on the correct score of the game.
PREDICTION: Czech Republic to win @ 1,62
