Czech football’s ‘Big Three’: What to know as the 2025/26 season kicks off

After a nearly two-month summer break, the Czech top-flight football league returns this Friday, July 18, with a showdown between Pardubice and Viktoria Plzeň. 

For those living in Prague, or simply curious about the local sporting culture, this season offers a great entry point into the world of Czech football. At the heart of it all are the “Big Three” clubs: Slavia Prague, Sparta Prague, and Viktoria Plzeň.

As these dominant forces gear up for the new season, including a domestic cup competition and European football for some, here’s what to know about Czechia’s three biggest sides this season.

Based in Prague’s Vršovice district, Slavia are defending champions and this season’s favorite. Backed by a strong squad and a direct pass to the Champions League group stage (thanks to Czechia’s improved UEFA coefficient), Slavia starts the season with confidence, and bookmakers currently put Slavia’s chances of winning the league as the highest.

Summer signings include Czech international Michal Sadílek and Japanese defender Daiki Hashioka, though the club also saw a record departure, with Senegalese left-back Malick Diouf transferring to West Ham for over CZK 500 million.

In total, Slavia has won 22 league titles from the pre-1993 Czechoslovak and modern Czech leagues. It has also won the domestic Czech Cup 11 times; the second-most out of all clubs. 

Over in the northern Letná part of Prague, Sparta, the most decorated club in Czech and former Czechoslovak football history, is hoping to reclaim the title after a disappointing 2024/25 season that saw the side finish fourth.

Danish coach Brian Priske is back after a brief stint abroad, aiming to repeat his previous title-winning form with the team between 2022 and 2024.

Sparta’s standout summer signing is former national team defender Pavel Kadeřábek, who returns from years in Germany’s Bundesliga.

While Slavia may have edged ahead in recent years, Sparta still carries historic weight and a massive following. With the most foreign players in the league and a stadium steps from Prague Castle, Sparta’s games offer a strong atmosphere.

The most hotly anticipated matches every season are with long-time nemesis Slavia Prague. Since 1896, the Prague teams have played each other 314 times, with Sparta leading the head-to-head by about 30 wins.

Often considered the third force in Czech football, Viktoria Plzeň (based in the west of Bohemia), has been jostling for success among Prague’s two biggest teams for over a decade.

The club finished second last season, ahead of Sparta, and is once again in the hunt for a European spot. They’ve lost some key players this summer, but under coach Miroslav Koubek, they remain a tactically disciplined, well-supported side.

Plzeň’s recent success has made them a credible threat in the title race and a regular in European competitions, helping raise the profile of the Czech league as a whole. In the 2021/22 season, Viktoria Plzeň won the championship.