Back Czechia to avoid defeat in their Group A opener against South Korea on Friday.

Miroslav Koubek replaced Ivan Hasek in the Czechia hot seat following a shock 2-1 defeat away to the Faroe Islands during qualifying, and the response has been impressive. The Czechs have since gone six matches unbeaten, winning play-off ties against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark to book their place at this summer’s World Cup.

There have been stronger South Korea sides in years gone by, despite them enjoying a relatively straightforward route to qualification. While the Taegeuk Warriors warmed up with wins over Trinidad and El Salvador, they were thumped 4-0 by Ivory Coast in March before losing 1-0 against Austria three days later.

Czechia are of a similar calibre to those two sides, and on current form, they should head into this contest confident of collecting at least a point.

I’m not expecting goals to flow freely in this game, but I would be surprised if we do not see at least two.

Each of Czechia’s last five matches across all competitions have featured a minimum of two goals, including both of their play-off ties against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark. During the group stage of qualifying, all but one of the Czechs’ seven fixtures broke the over 1.5 goal barrier.

The case is strengthened further when you consider that 18 of South Korea’s last 22 matches have also produced two goals or more. Both sides carry an attacking threat, but neither are completely watertight defensively, so goals at both ends are a real possibility.

I think this game has the feel of a 1-1 draw, or a 2-1 win for Czechia.

Patrik Schick looks like the prime candidate to hit the target at least once during this contest.

The Czechia forward is a talismanic figure for his country, with an impressive return of 26 goals in 53 international appearances. Across his eight outings during World Cup qualifying, Schick hit the target a minimum of once in six of those matches, making the net bulge with five of those efforts.

His shots on target numbers were also strong during the recently concluded Bundesliga season, averaging 1.58 shots on target per 90.

Schick is also his side’s designated penalty taker, which only adds to the appeal of siding with this selection.

Vladimir Coufal looks like a strong candidate to commit at least one foul. The Czechia defender was regularly on the referee’s radar when playing away from home during qualifying.

In fact, Coufal committed multiple fouls in each of his three appearances away from home during the group stage. The former West Ham man was also guilty of one foul against the Republic of Ireland in a play-off semi-final earlier this year.

On top of that, Coufal averaged 1.01 fouls per game in the Bundesliga last season, committing at least one foul in seven of his final 10 appearances of the campaign.

He is likely to find himself operating in similar areas of the pitch to South Korea star Heung-min Son, who has drawn an average of 1.78 fouls per game across his four appearances for his country this calendar year.

Look for Tomas Soucek to be fouled at least once against South Korea on Friday. The towering Czech midfielder not only commits plenty of fouls but also wins his side a fair share of free kicks in the midfield battleground.

Soucek was brought down a combined total of eight times across his 10 appearances during qualifying, with six of those free kicks coming away from home. That trend also carried into last season’s Premier League campaign, where Soucek drew an average of 0.90 fouls per game for West Ham, securing his side eight set-pieces across his final seven outings of the campaign.

Soucek is likely to find himself in a midfield battle alongside Hwang In-beom, who has averaged 1.18 fouls per 90 across his last 17 appearances for his country, while also committing an average of 1.00 fouls per 90 for Feyenoord last season.