Viktoria Plzen v Roma: Three opposition players to watch

Luciano Spalletti and his men will be looking to start the competition in winning fashion, but the Czech champions will be no pushovers.

Here are three players from that could give the Giallorossi a hard time at the Doosan Arena...

Roman Hubnik

Regarded as a key player in the back line for the Czech side, Roman Hubnik will be expected to lead by example.

The 32-year-old played a key role in helping Viktoria Plzen win the domestic title last season, as the side conceded only 25 goals in 30 games - just one more than runners-up Sparta Prague.

He is not just a stopper, however: so far this season the captain has completed 286 passes at a success rate of 85.3%, confirming him as one of the best ball-playing centre-backs in the league and a key distributor for his side.

Roma will be keeping an eye out for his reading of the game and intelligence on the ball – the attackers will have to press him very quickly and make sure they are there to stop him shifting the ball to team-mates in dangerous positions.

Jan Kopic

Since arriving at the club in 2015, Jan Kopic has been a crucial component of Viktoria Plzen’s success.

After starring in last season’s title success the 26-year-old is already showing he is no one-season wonder, scoring two goals and providing four assists in five league appearances in the new campaign.

Kopic will surely be relied on to create chances for his team-mates, especially as coach Roman Pivarnik prefers his side to set-up in a 4-4-2 formation and offer a direct style of play. The No. 10 has the ideal feel for space and movement for the position, and could cause problems for Roma’s full-back to keep a track of him.

Luciano Spalletti must have been warned about the dangerous winger in the opposition scouting report, and will expect his defence to mark him tightly if they are aiming to pick up all three points at the Doosan Arena.

Michal Duris

After being at Viktoria Plzen for five years, the 28-year-old finally started to pay the club back last season with plenty of goals.

Duris finished as the club’s top goalscorer on 16 goals – the first time he has scored double figures in a single season – as he also finished second in the league scoring charts.

With the rise of Duris over the last 12 months, Roma will have to prevent the Slovakian from having the opportunity of converting any chances on Thursday evening. The 6ft striker exploits his burst of pace and versatility, so the Giallorossi defence will have to be aware of attacker’s abilities during the game.