⚽ Polish League - Ekstraklasa Prediction & Discussion Thread ⚽

[pawel7777]

That's eight league games in a row without a win for Legia (if I counted correctly). Their most recent win in all competitions was over troubled-by-war Shakhtar Donetsk.
To say this is pretty bad is not saying enough.
They have played one game less than many of the clubs above them in the Ekstraklasa table, but that's hardly any consolation. Whatever is the reason for this downfall, they need to find a solution soon. Even the bottom 2 teams have 3 wins each in the last 5 games.
Legia getting relegated would be a disaster, not only for the club but for the Ekstraklasa as a whole. Like them or not, they are probably the most recognised Polish club and a club with the most league championships in history.
Potentially, we could end up in a situation where there are more high-profile clubs and higher attendance in the lower division than in the Ekstraklasa. That would be weird, but anything can happen.

[cygan]

the first three catch-up games took place on sunday, and Legia lost again...
they suffered a 0-1 home defeat against piast gliwice, who have now overtaken legia in the table and left the relegation zone!
raków also lost their home game 0-1 against zagłębie and missed the opportunity (as did jagiellonia, who drew 1-1 vs. motor lublin) to climb to first place

[cygan]

Marek Papszun is the new coach of legia warszawa. he left raków częstochowa, which he had led to the round of 16 in the conference league last week, to join the team, which is in the midst of a deep crisis
but raków was also able to present a successor to MP right away...
it is Łukasz Tomczyk, who previously coached first division club polonia bytom. the contract runs until the end of june 2027 with an option to extend for a further three years...

[cygan]

after the long winter break, the ball rolled again yesterday in the polish ekstraklasa!
at the start of the 19th matchday, gks katowice secured 3 points with a 2-0 away win at zagłębie
the second friday game between radomiak and arka gdynia was canceled...

[cygan]

the year started exactly as last year ended...
with the new results from matchday #19, it remains very exciting at the top and bottom of the table!
it feels like half the league could still be relegated...

[pawel7777]

Lech's bad streak continues. The current champions just got beaten by Piasst Gliwice 1-0 despite having a slight dominance throughout the game, with almost twice as many shots on goal as Piast.
It looked like the game could end with a goalless draw, but Piast's Katsantonis scored one for the hosts in 83rd minute.
Lech have won only once in their last 5 league games, so pretty disappointing for the reigning champions.

Lech won the championship 9 times in their history, but they managed to do it twice in a row only once, in the 1982/83 and 83/84 seasons, so over 40 years ago. It doesn't look like they will be able to repeat that this year.

[LTU_btc]

I followed a bit of first round after winter break. First of all, it was crazy to see almost full stadiums in such harsh winter conditions. And considering weather conditions, most of pitches looked in quite good quality, maybe except Legia sadium.
It's crazy to see such tiny gaps between top and bottom teams already after half of season. Probably most competetive.

Lech won the championship 9 times in their history, but they managed to do it twice in a row only once, in the 1982/83 and 83/84 seasons, so over 40 years ago. It doesn't look like they will be able to repeat that this year.

There is good phrase that's easier to win title than to defend it. But if I would have to bet on one team, who is going to win league, I have no idea what to choose. Maybe Jaga?

[cygan]

✂️
There is good phrase that's easier to win title than to defend it. But if I would have to bet on one team, who is going to win league, I have no idea what to choose. Maybe Jaga?

i'm still hoping for górnik zabrze, who were polish champions for the last time in 1988 or will there be a big surprise and newly promoted wisła płock crown their superb season with the championship title?
jaga still has a game in hand, so they have everything in their own hands... in any case, it remains very exciting

[cygan]

at the start of the 20th matchday yesterday, friday, there were the following two results:
zagłębie lubin won 2-1 away at korona kielce and the match between lechia gdańsk and cracovia ended 1-1

[pawel7777]

(...)
There is good phrase that's easier to win title than to defend it. But if I would have to bet on one team, who is going to win league, I have no idea what to choose. Maybe Jaga?

Jagiellonia are in a good position to win the league. They are 2 points ahead of Wisła Płock and played one game less than teams placed 3rd to 5th. But honestly, with the amount of points the top teams are losing, I would say that any team currently placed in the top 6 has a chance of winning, provided it manages to stabilise their form on a decent level and gets consistent results.

My main concern is whether or not Legia avoids relegation. Like them or not, they are the club with one of the highest numbers of supporters and the highest revenues in Ekstraklasa according to:
https://grantthornton.pl/en/article/finansowa-ekstraklasa
If they drop to a lower league, it wouldn't be good for the league as a whole.

[cygan]

thanks to two 0-1 defeats by górnik zabrze (at home against lech poznań) and wisła płock (away at piast gliwice), jagiellonia climbed to the top of the table with a well-deserved 4-1 home win against promoted motor lublin
accordingly, after the 20th matchday, we have a new league leader who also has one game less than the competition

[pawel7777]

thanks to two 0-1 defeats by górnik zabrze (at home against lech poznań) and wisła płock (away at piast gliwice), jagiellonia climbed to the top of the table with a well-deserved 4-1 home win against promoted motor lublin
accordingly, after the 20th matchday, we have a new league leader who also has one game less than the competition

It looks like Jagiellonia has been the most consistent team among all the top Ekstraklasa clubs. If the season were to end as it stands right now, Jagiellonia would be the only club to have finished in the top 3 for three years in a row. In contrast, none of the other clubs would have even made it to the top 3 twice in the last three years.

Being the most dominant club in Poland, their win ratio is still only 53%, so they tend to lose points quite often. This means that they can lose their number 1 position if any of the other top clubs get their act together and press harder.

[cygan]

at the start of the 21st matchday yesterday, there were the following two results:
korona kielce celebrated a 2-0 away win at radomiak and in the match between gks katowice and legia, the two clubs drew 1-1

[cygan]

wisła płock (0-2 against widzew łódź) and górnik zabrze (1-1 against bruk-bet termalica) were unable to capitalize on jagiellonia's 0-0 draw at cracovia and remain behind the leaders.
note also the good results of lechia gdańsk... they started the season with -5 points... if they hadn't been sanctioned by the polish football association, they would now also be at the top of the table with 32 points!

[cygan]

this friday, at the start of the 23rd matchday, there were no home wins in either game...
piast gliwice lost 1-2 at home to promoted motor lublin and the game between widzew łódź and cracovia ended in a goalless 0-0 draw

[cygan]

after the 22nd matchday, zagłębie has quietly climbed to second place and is now jagiellonia's closest rival!
legia won its home game against wisła płock 2-1 and secured three important points... nevertheless, the league remains very exciting across almost the entire table...

[pawel7777]

A quick summary of Polish Ekstraklasa clubs' performance in the Europa Conference Cup:

Lech defeated Finnish KuPS 1-0 at home (Aggregate 3-0) and are through to the round of 16, where they will face Shakhtar Donetsk.

Despite the impressive 4-2 away win against Fiorentina, Jagiellonia dropped off, as they lost 5-4 on aggregate. They fought a good fight though.

Raków Częstochowa will have a chance to avenge Jagiellonia as they drew Fiorentina as their next rival. Raków qualified earlier without having to go through play-offs, as they finished 2nd in the league stage.

[cygan]

yesterday's start to the 23rd matchday saw plenty of goals...
the game between cracovia and piast gliwice ended 2-3, and arka gdynia and lechia gdańsk drew 2-2

[cygan]

in the top match on the 23rd matchday between lech poznań and raków the hosts won 4-3 and are now along with zagłębie (2-0 against wisła płock) the closest rivals to jagiellonia (2-2 against legia)
legia remains in a relegation spot and must be very careful that arka gdynia does not win its postponed match, because then it will be 3 points behind the saving 15th place in the table

[cygan]

there was a small surprise at the start of the 24th matchday yesterday
lechia gdańsk defeated the current league leaders jagiellonia 3-0!
and on thursday radomiak celebrated its first victory in 2026... in the rescheduled game against arka gdynia the club celebrated a 3-1 home victory