After Legia Warsaw won the Championship Round at the end of the Ekstraklasa and became champions, they earned a place in the Polish Super Cup. Their opponents are Arka Gdynia who won the 2016/17 Polish Cup and earned a place in the UEFA Europa League qualification rounds. Legia have appeared in the Super Cup 11 times, more than any other teams but have only won on four of those occasions. It will be Arka Gdynia’s first appearance in the curtain-raiser and they’ll be desperate to win.

STATS

• Legia Warsaw finished off the Championship Round with a 17-game unbeaten run and came out with a two-point lead in the end. They won three of their last five games in the league and their last game, which was irrelevant as the title was already won, ended as a drab 0-0 draw. The game that won them the league was a narrow 1-0 victory over Korona in their penultimate fixture.
• Arka Gdynia ended the season with two wins in their last five games as they managed to stay in the Ekstraklasa in the Relegation Round. Their focus was solely on the Polish Cup as they won it against all odds. They beat huge favourites, Lech Poznan 2-1 in the final. Their last game in the league was a strong 3-1 win over Zagłębie which held their place.
• Legia Warsaw had two players inside the top eight league goal scorers last season in the league. Nemanja Nikolics (12 goals) and Miroslav Radovic (11 goals) fired their team to the title.
• Rafal Siemaszko also managed to score 11 goals in the league for Arka Gdynia which were vital in his side’s bid to stay in the top flight.

HEAD TO HEAD

Arka Gdynia have only beaten Legia once and that win only came last season with an unexpected 3-1 win. Legia have won 11 of the 14 meetings between the two sides and a piece of silverware on the line will provide an extra incentive in this one. Gdynia have had three red cards in the last seven meetings.

LEGIA NEWS

A win for Legia and another trophy will give them a huge confidence boost heading into the beginning of the season. They are used to the pressure of big games and with just Michal Kucharczyk unavailable for the match, they should go into the match with high confidence. Any other than a win will be very disappointing for the Polish giants.

Latest matches: Legia Warsaw

30.06.2017	Club	RKS Radomiak 1910 SA Radom	Legia Warsaw	0:2	W
24.06.2017	Club	Wisla Plock SA	Legia Warsaw	0:3	W
04.06.2017	Ekst	Legia Warsaw	KS Lechia Gdansk	0:0	D
28.05.2017	Ekst	Korona Kielce SA	Legia Warsaw	0:1	W
21.05.2017	Ekst	Jagiellonia Bialystok	Legia Warsaw	0:0	D

ARKA GDYNIA NEWS

Arka Gdynia will be desperate to add another trophy to their very small trophy cabinet and a win in this game will bring a new piece of silverware to them. The Polish minnows go into the match with no injuries and with a fully available squad, they will be confident of successfully playing the underdog role.

Latest matches: Arka Gdynia 1929

24.06.2017	Club	Arka Gdynia 1929	Apoel Nicosia FC	1:1	D
02.06.2017	Ekst	KGHM Zaglebie Lubin	Arka Gdynia 1929	1:3	W
27.05.2017	Ekst	Arka Gdynia 1929	Ruch Chorzow	1:1	D
19.05.2017	Ekst	WKS Slask Wroclaw	Arka Gdynia 1929	4:1	L
16.05.2017	Ekst	Arka Gdynia 1929	Wisla Plock SA	0:1	L

SUMMARY

Legia are huge favourites heading into the Polish Super Cup and with their much stronger team and big-game experience, it should certainly be them lifting the silverware after the 90 minutes. However, as Arka won the Polish Cup last season, they played the underdog role throughout and loved playing it, almost like Leicester City! They know that they have nothing to lose and will go all out to win the game. A Legia win is expected but it could go either way on the day.