Ailing Slavia give Sparta a chance

SK Slavia Praha's winter signing spree may have undermined their title ambitions in the Czech Republic and allowed AC Sparta Praha to sneak into contention.

Disjointed display
Comfortably ahead of their neighbours and nearest rivals at the winter break, Slavia have brought in five new players over the last few months. However, their first match of the year saw them put in a disjointed performance and they needed a slightly fortuitous winner from one of their recent arrivals, Jaroslav Černý, to seal a 1-0 victory against his old side SK Dynamo Ceské Budéjovice on 17 February. Their luck then ran out.

Not happy
At 1. FC Brno, a five-month unbeaten run in domestic football came to an end. Daniel Pudil put Slavia ahead but goals from Aleš Besta and Marek Střeštík saw them beaten. Coach Karel Jarolím was not impressed, saying: "We took the lead but lost the match from two dead-ball situations in the second half. We cannot be satisfied with this performance in any way."

Winning streak
Slavia's lead at the top of the table is now down to just two points with Sparta having started the second half of season in irresistible form. The Rudí earned their first win at FC Zlín in 13 years, triumphing 2-0 and things then got even better in their next match with a 6-1 home mauling of FK Viktoria Žižkov – Sparta's biggest league win since 2001.

Vacek reward
Kamil Vacek announced his arrival in the Sparta first team with goals in both of those games. The 20-year-old former SK Sigma Olomouc midfielder left the Czech Republic at the age of 18 to join German side DSC Arminia Bielefeld, but long-term injuries ruined his plans. He joined Sparta on crutches last summer, but the club were rewarded for their partience as he showed what he can do.

Slepicka on song
Another Sparta player making up for lost time is Miroslav Slepička. Now 26, the forward has not been lucky since joining Slavia in the summer of 2005, missing the whole of last season with a broken heel. However, he has registered three league goals since the start of 2008 and now tops the club's scorers list with eight this season – the same as Libor Došek, who is recovering after knee surgery.

Derby looming
Sparta's comeback kings will receive their big test on 29 March when they meet Slavia, with Michal Bílek's men keen to avenge a 2-0 home defeat earlier in the season.