Variants of the Pilsen defence without a captain: Jemelka in a two- or three-man defence or a bet on Kasha

Viktoria Plzeň will face their last Champions League group stage clash on Tuesday, and will face Karabakh without the suspended Lukáš Hejda. Who will replace the team captain alongside Luděk Pernice?

The most likely pairing

Václav Jemelka seems to be the most likely direct replacement for the captain. He also played in Baku, but due to the more defensive approach to the game, he played at left back. In the absence of Hejda, he should move to the centre of defence.

Libor Holík would probably go to left-back in a four-man system, which is the only option apart from Jan Sýkora, who will be needed in midfield. And so far he has always stood up to the challenge, and he is definitely better defensively than Sýkora.

Security at the back

Michal Bílek has already bet on a solid defensive line and defending at the expense of opening up the game, so it would not be surprising to see Jemelka staying at left-back and bringing in the taller Filip Kasa.

Kaša is definitely not in the best form from the start of the season, Viktoria on the other hand could freely switch to a three-guard system with Jhon Mosquera and Milan Havel at the wing-back positions.

Three-goal experience

There is also a bet on experience. Without Holík, without Kasa and with a three-goal system. In the middle, the experienced Luděk Pernica would be awaiting his football graduation, Jemelka would be helping him on the left side and Havel on the right.

The disadvantage of this trio would be speed compared to the opponent’s dynamic offensive trio, while the advantage would be that it would free up one vacancy for Jan Kliment. And the two players could give the defense, which is the opponent’s weakness, a hard time.

Source: FC Viktoria Plzeň