FK Mladá Boleslav - FK Jablonec: STRUGGLING BOLESLAV HOSTS DEFENSIVE FORTRESS FROM JABLONEC

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April 19, 2025

FK Mladá Boleslav - FK Jablonec

The Lokotrans Arena in Mladá Boleslav will be the venue for an intriguing clash this Saturday between two teams with dramatically different current form. Home side FK Mladá Boleslav, sliding down the table, welcomes an in-form FK Jablonec, whose defense in recent weeks resembles an impregnable fortress.

Boleslav is going through one of the toughest periods in its modern history. Coach David Holoubek's team has lost six consecutive league matches, most recently falling to Sparta Prague. Such a long losing streak was last experienced by the Central Bohemian club between November 2017 and March 2018. The current 34 points after 29 rounds represents the third-worst record for the club in the era of the independent Czech league – Boleslav was only worse off in the 2020/21 (27 points) and 2004/05 (30 points) seasons.

"We're obviously going through a difficult period, but we're trying to maintain a positive atmosphere in the dressing room," says Boleslav captain Marek Matějovský. "We know we're capable of more, and the home match against Jablonec is an ideal opportunity to break this bad streak."

Defensive problems are plaguing the Boleslav team the most. In their last match against Sparta, they faced 22 shots from their opponents, the second-highest number in a single game this season (in March against Karviná, it was even 24). Statistically, Boleslav is the worst defending team in the competition – facing an average of 16.4 shots per game and allowing opponents to produce 20 or more shooting attempts in nine matches, the highest of all teams in the league.

Another weakness of the home team is the deep block they practice. They start their attacking sequences on average 38.7 meters from their own goal, the second-lowest value in the league after Pardubice (38.6 m). The Central Bohemians also win the ball in the defensive third of the field in 51.3% of cases, the third-highest value after Dukla (53.1%) and Pardubice (51.5%).

In contrast, visiting Jablonec arrives in Boleslav in excellent form. The North Bohemian side has won two league games in a row and with 48 points has 19 more than at the same stage last season. This is their best points tally after 29 rounds since the 2020/21 season, when they accumulated 59 points.

The greatest weapon of coach Radoslav Látal's team in recent weeks has been an impenetrable defense. Jablonec hasn't conceded in their last three league games and has kept a clean sheet in five of their last seven matches. With a total of 14 clean sheets this season, they are the second-best in the league after Slavia (19). Only once in history did they have more zero-conceded games at this stage of the season – in the 1996/97 season there were 16, in the 2014/15 season the same as now, 14.

"Our defensive work is currently at a very high level," praises coach Látal. "The guys are following tactical instructions to the letter, and the result is clean sheets. It's precisely from quality defense that we can spring to success."

Jablonec won the first meeting between the clubs this season last July 2-0 at home, and if they were to earn three points on Saturday as well, they would significantly move closer to European competitions. Conversely, Boleslav desperately needs to score points to end their black series and escape from the dangerous proximity of the relegation zone.

We thank OPTA for providing the statistical data. Photo: source XYZ