Liberec flies higher

The New Year has come, but the Extraliga began with few changes on the table. Liberec managed to strengthen its advantage, with nine wins in the last ten games: despite a 2-5 loss to Sparta Praha on January 3rd, the Northern Bohemians now have an impressive advantage over the second-placed team which, by chance, is Sparta itself. The 13-point void between the two clubs is as wide as ever, while the team from the capital city has to face another danger: Skoda Plzen, which is just one point shorter and threatens to clinch the second position on every game day.

Olomouc, Mladá Boleslav, Kometa Brno and Chomutov are fighting for the last playoffs spots, and their performances of late have been similar, with a fair number of wins as well as losses. At the bottom of the table, we still find VERVA Litvínov and Energie Karlovy Vary with a discouraging 36 points, compared to Liberec's 78-point lead. Litvínov managed to win two of their last three games, even if one of them finished just after a shootout, while Energie lost every January match-up. 

A play-out is, by now, almost inevitable for both teams, which will probably have to deal with Kladno -owned by NHL star Jaromír Jágr- or CEZ Motor, from the Southern town of Ceské Budejovice. Other teams in the second division that could clinch a chance to reach Central Europe's finest league are Slavia Praha (still seeking revenge after last year's relegation) and Dukla Jihlava.

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