Slavia Praha vs Ajax

When Ajax plays Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday, they'll be looking to win in Czechia for the first time ever.

Given their season the previous year, it was a small miracle that Ajax made it to the competition, but they appear to be competitive this time around.

The Dutch powerhouses finished fifth in the Eredivisie last season after spending a significant portion of the previous campaign in the bottom half, guaranteeing European football at the Johan Cruyff Arena once more.

On matchday one, they looked imperious, thumping Besiktas 4-0 in a game where they could have racked up plenty more goals, keeping Mert Gunok busy in the visiting goal.

Their formidable defense also made an impression, since they prevented their opponents from scoring a shot on goal for the first time in three years, which strangely also happened against Besiktas.

When Ajax plays Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday, they'll be looking to win in Czechia for the first time ever.

Given their season the previous year, it was a small miracle that Ajax made it to the competition, but they appear to be competitive this time around.

Thus, they might stop a run of 14 away European games without a clean sheet, a record in which they have given up 29 goals and failed to hold a team at bay throughout their travels in the past three and a half years.

In addition, the visitors will be hoping that this will help them win for the first time ever on Czech soil, since despite their impressive past, Ajax has lost their last six away games against Czech teams.

Even if that streak does not end, Ajax could theoretically have enough to advance given the opponents they have been drawn against; after playing Qarabag, RFS, and Maccabi Tel-Aviv, they should be able to accumulate double-digit points.

In this crucial week for the Czech team—which includes playing against European aristocracy before this weekend's Prague derby—Slavia will be eager to gain momentum.

In all competitions, the hosts have won 12 of their 14 games this season, and they lead their domestic league by three points above rival Sparta Prague.

Though they won the second leg, their only loss thus far came in the Champions League playoffs against Lille, and Jindrich Trpisovsky was shocked to see his team fail to advance while watching from the sidelines.

Matej Jurasek and Mojmir Chytil's goals on matchday one helped Slavia defeat Ludogorets Razgrad 2-0, despite having to settle for the Europa League.

That resulted in them keeping another clean sheet. It had been about eight hours since Slavia's goal against Lille in August of that fateful night.

The Cervenobili have played seven times in Europe against Dutch teams, but only once, in both legs of their 2007 Champions League qualifier, have they defeated Ajax. A year later, in the UEFA Cup group stage, the two met again and shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw in Amsterdam.