Mladá Boleslav and FK Teplice meet on Saturday afternoon in the final round of the Czech First League relegation group. With both teams already safe from the drop, this final fixture is a direct battle for top spot in the group. Mladá Boleslav currently lead the standings on 40 points, holding a slender one-point advantage over their visitors.
Both sides enter this final day on the back of comfortable victories last weekend. While the pressure of relegation has eased, there is still plenty of pride on the line as the hosts look to secure eleventh place overall, while Teplice aim to leapfrog them at the very end.
Mladá Boleslav Form & Analysis
Aleš Majer's side put in one of their best performances of the season last Saturday, cruising to a 3-0 away win against Slovácko. Josef Kolářík was the star of the show, scoring twice in the first half-hour before Jiří Klíma sealed the points in the second half. That victory ended a brief slump and ensured they head into this final fixture in high spirits.
Mladá Boleslav have been tough to beat recently, losing only two of their last six matches. However, their home form has been a mixed bag this term, with four wins, seven draws, and six defeats on their own turf.
Majer will have to manage a fairly lengthy injury list for this final game. Jan Buryán, Roman Macek, David Pech, Victor Ogungbayi, and goalkeeper Filip Floder are all sidelined. Despite these absences, the squad showed plenty of depth and attacking quality in their clinical performance last weekend.
FK Teplice Form & Analysis
Teplice also enjoyed a successful outing last weekend, beating Dukla Praha 2-0 at home. Late goals from Jan Fortelný and Idris Hopi secured the win, extending their unbeaten run to four matches.
Despite that positive run, manager Zdenko Frtala faces a selection headache for the trip to Mladá Boleslav. The squad has been hit by fresh suspensions, with starting goalkeeper Tomáš Trmal and forward Matěj Náprstek both ruled out of this clash.
With safety guaranteed, the coaching staff has already indicated that they will use this final fixture to rotate the squad. Assistant Jan Rezek confirmed that Teplice plan to give opportunities to fringe players and those who have had fewer minutes this season. Facing a strong opponent with a makeshift lineup and a backup goalkeeper will make this a very difficult away test.
## Head-to-Head
Mladá Boleslav have dominated this fixture in recent times. They are unbeaten in their last five meetings against Teplice, a run that includes a 0-0 draw when the sides last met in February, and a 3-2 victory for Boleslav earlier in the campaign.
We Predict: Home Win
With Teplice set to field a heavily rotated side and missing their first-choice goalkeeper through suspension, Mladá Boleslav are well-placed to finish the season on a high. The hosts looked sharp in front of goal last weekend and have a strong recent head-to-head record against their opponents.
Mladá Boleslav should have too much cohesion for a changed Teplice side. We expect the home side to control the game and secure the three points needed to lock down the top spot in the group.
Our main prediction is a Home Win at 2.1537, with a 2-1 victory for Mladá Boleslav looking like the most likely scoreline.
