This coming Sunday, 20 July 2025 we return to league struggles. The match of the 1st round in the 2024/25 PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa season will be played against Górnik Zabrze. The meeting will begin at 14:45.
The previous season was extremely challenging for us. After returning to the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa, we faced a new challenge – the fight to stay in the top division. The team’s determination, the work of the coaching staff and the support of the fans meant that we managed to achieve our goal and secure our place in the Ekstraklasa for the next season.
During the preparatory period we played five sparring matches. Four of them ended with our victory – we beat GKS Tychy 2:0, Olimpia Grudziądz 4:0, Olimpia Elbląg 3:1 and Chojniczanka Chojnice 3:0. Only in the clash with Motor Lublin we had to acknowledge the superiority of our rival, losing 3:5.
We want to take another step forward in the coming season. We hope that the experience we have gained will pay off and that the team will perform even better against league rivals.
The excitement is within us. We need development, we need to be a stable team. When I see the development of the team, I am always happy. I hope that this progression will be followed by points as well. On Sunday we’ll play in Zabrze, we’re going somewhat into the unknown. Górnik have 11 new players, so we don’t really know what kind of team they are, but that will also be the case with other teams. I am waiting for this team to develop and I want to see a better team than last season – said coach John Carver at his pre-match press conference.
We analysed Górnik, they have a new coach and we know how they want to play. The rivals have made some good transfers and added some quality. Another thing is that there will be a full stadium – they have opened a new stand, so the atmosphere will be excellent. Of course, it will be a very difficult match and the rivals have certainly changed their style of play. They have signed a new goalkeeper, they have super wingers and a striker from Norway. The central midfielders are very well organised and work well together. These accents of the game are completely differently distributed than last season – added the coach of the White-Greens.
We are positive, we look good in training and we are well prepared. I think in the upcoming match we will show this – said Tomasz Wójtowicz at a press briefing.
RIVAL PROFILE: GÓRNIK ZABRZE
The team from Silesia ended last season in 9th place in the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa table, accumulating a total of 47 points. As part of preparations for the new season, Górnik Zabrze played four sparring matches. It defeated Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała 4:2, Aris Limassol 4:0 and MFK Karviná 1:0. The only defeat was recorded in the match against Viktoria Pilzno, which ended with a result of 1:2.
LAST MATCH AGAINST GÓRNIK ZABRZE
The last time we faced Górnik Zabrze was on 9 March 2025 at the Polsat Plus Arena Gdańsk, in a meeting of the 24th round of the PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa. The match ended with the victory of the visiting team 2:1. In turn, our last away clash with Górnik took place on 1 September 2024, as part of the 7th round of the league competition. This match ended with our team winning 3:2, with goals for Lechia scored by Anton Tsarenko, Elias Olsson and Bohdan Viunnyk.
OVERALL SUMMARY OF MATCHES AGAINST GÓRNIK ZABRZE
So far, we have played 61 matches against Górnik Zabrze. We have won in 20 matches. There has been a draw in 18 matches. On the other hand, we have suffered defeat 23 times.
REFEREES PANEL
The meeting between Górnik Zabrze and Lechia Gdańsk will be refereed by Marcin Kochanek from Opole. This arbiter refereed matches involving Lechia three times last season. He was the referee in the 5th round during the lost meeting with Puszcza Niepołomice (1:4), in the 17th round in the clash with GKS Katowice, which also ended in a defeat for our team, and also in the 21st round, when Lechia defeated Zagłębie Lubin 3:1.
Sebastian Mucha and Krzysztof Stępień will assist the main referee on the lines. Aleksander Kozieł will act as technical referee, while Łukasz Szczech and Paweł Sokolnicki will be responsible for the VAR system.
WHERE TO WATCH THE MATCH?
Sunday’s match against Górnik Zabrze will kick off at 14:45, with coverage available on TV on Canal+Sport 3, Canal+ 360, in the app and on Canal+ online. The pre-match studio will begin at 14:10.
