Shamrock Rovers are set to travel to Slovakian capital Bratislava this week to take on Super Liga Champions Slovan Bratislava. Stephen Bradley's side travelled to Slovakia this morning, Tuesday, July 6, ahead of the fixture tomorrow which will take
Shamrock Rovers are set to travel to Slovakian capital Bratislava this week to take on Super Liga Champions Slovan Bratislava. Stephen Bradley's side travelled to Slovakia this morning, Tuesday, July 6, ahead of the fixture tomorrow which will take place at the Tehelné pole with kick-off at 5.30pm The match will be available to watch via the Shamrock Rovers website for just €8 at shamrockrovers.ie. Overview UEFA Champions League - First Qualifying Round 07/07 - First Leg - Slovan Bratislava v Shamrock Rovers, KO 17:30 (stream available to purchase on Shamrock Rovers website, €10) 13/07 - Shamrock Rovers v Slovan Bratislava, KO 20:00 (stream TBC) Slovan Bratislava are the reigning Slovakian Champions having secured their third consecutive Super Liga title last season, their 15th title overall. They won the league with a ten-point gap to FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda but will be looking to improve their European fortunes this season after they suffered a surprise penalty shoot-out defeat to Finnish side KuPS in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. A familiar name will be former Rangers and Manchester City winger Vladimir Weiss who has returned to his native Slovakia to play under his father Vladimir Weiss snr. Current form and Statistics With the 2021/22 season set to begin in August, Slovan Bratislava will be playing their first competitive game of the season against Shamrock Rovers. Using our data partner Wyscout, we've looked at some of the key statistics from Slovan's 2020/21 season. Attack Slovan were the second-highest scorers in the league with 78 goals, just one goal behind Zilina, and had the third-most shots in the league, 490. It was their possession high up the pitch which caused many teams problems last season and this is shown with the 822 touches in the opposition area last season, the most in the league. Midfield Slovan are only fourth in the table for the most passes but the key passes table tell a different story. Slovan produced 151 key passes in the league last season, the most by any team, which shows their ability to break a line in the forward areas. Slovan dominated the ball last season, much like Shamrock Rovers, with an average possession of 54.8%. Defence Slovan kept it tight at the back with the second-lowest shots against, conceding just 301 shots throughout the season. This was reflected in just 28 goals conceded, the lowest in the league by some distance, which means Shamrock Rovers will be up against it to break their defence. European Record Slovan Bratislava have a proud European football record having won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in the 1968-69 season, beating Barcelona in the final. They've faced Irish opposition on a number of occasions and have won each time. In the 1996/97 season, they faced St. Patrick's Athletic in the UEFA Cup preliminary round and ran out 5-3 winners on aggregate, winning both ties 1-0 and 4-3. In the 2015-16 addition of the UEFA Europa League, they faced UCD AFC in the second qualifying round and ran out 6-1 winners against the Students on aggregate. Their final tie against Irish opposition came in the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League as they ran out 4-1 aggregate winners against Dundalk in the third qualifying round. Key Player: Rafael Ratão - Striker The 25-year old fired Slovan to the title last season with his impressive haul of 14 goals in the league last season. Not only where his goals impressive but he also contributed four assists which saw him finish third in the league in the combined chart of goals and assists. Ratão moved from Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk in 2019 and his form has saw him linked to a number of top European sides. Manager: Vladimir Weiss A true legend of Slovak football, Weiss has returned to the club for his second spell as manager after his left his role as manager of the Georgian national team in 2020. Weiss led Slovakia to their first-ever major tournament in 2010, qualifying for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, but left the role in 2012 after he failed to led Slovakia to the UEFA EURO 2012 Championships. He has returned to Slovak domestic football having won the title with Artmedia Petržalka in 2005 and 2008, and led Slovan to their third consecutive title last season.
