Raków Częstochowa begin their Polish Cup campaign with a Round of 32 match against Motor Lublin. The tie will be played on Tuesday, 27 October, at the Motor Lublin Arena with a 5:30 PM local kick-off.
The team from Częstochowa enters this cup tie in dreadful league form. Raków sit 18th and last in the Ekstraklasa table, having collected just six points from twelve matches, with a record of two wins and ten losses. Their last outing was a 2-1 defeat to Wisla Krakow on Saturday, 24 October, and they have managed only two wins and three losses in their last five league fixtures. Across the twelve matches, the team has scored 16 goals but conceded 28, giving them a goal difference of -12. In the standings, they trail the leaders, Lech Poznan, by a massive 22 points.
For Raków Częstochowa, the Polish Cup could be the last chance to salvage their season. Teleman noted the team is "performing catastrophically in the Ekstraklasa," and the cup offers a route to silverware and European qualification. Raków have the upper hand in the recent head-to-head, having beaten Motor Lublin 2-1 in the league on 11 September.
Motor Lublin are also not in peak form, having drawn 2-2 with Zaglebie Lubin last time out. Raków will face a home side likely to set up in a 4-1-4-1 formation featuring players like Tratnik and Bereszyński. Raków's manager is expected to stick with a 3-4-3 shape, where top scorer Patryk Makuch, with six goals in twelve appearances this season, will be key.
Following the cup match, Raków return to league action with a daunting fixture against third-placed Pogon Szczecin at home on Saturday, 31 October. Before that, the team must find a way to shore up a defence that has conceded 28 goals already this campaign. Recent weeks have brought mixed results for Raków, losing 2-1 to Wisla Krakow, but prior to that winning 2-1 against Wieczysta Kraków on 16 October and 4-1 against Polonia Bytom on 2 October.
