On Monday, Arka Gdynia will face relegation-deficient Termalika at the GOSiR Stadium in the 33rd round of the Polish Ekstraklasa. The hosts are in dire straits, sitting in 17th place, second-to-last, three points behind the safe zone.
Arka head coach Dariusz Banasik stated that his team will play defensively, as only a win offers any chance of survival in the final round. Arka has been in good form in recent matches, drawing with league leaders Lech Poznan (1-1) and reigning vice-champion Górnik Zabrze (0-0). Furthermore, captain Dawid Gojny and winger Nazariy Rusin are returning from suspension, significantly bolstering the hosts' attacking potential. Meanwhile, Termalika has won just one of its last 10 away matches, demonstrating an extremely weak defensive performance.
Their head-to-head record also suggests that Arka is quite capable of beating this opponent at home: in their last encounter at GOSiR, the hosts won 2-1. A defeat in this match would immediately and guarantee Arka's place in the top flight, while even a draw leaves their fate dependent on the results of their competitors. Given this critical situation, a motivated team from Gdynia, backed by a strong home crowd, is simply obliged to seize the opportunity and secure a comeback victory over their already relegated opponent.
