Piast Gliwice Face Widzew Lodz After International Break

Piast Gliwice welcomed Widzew Lodz to the Stadion przy Okrzei on Sunday, October 11, 2026, for an Ekstraklasa fixture following a three-week international break. Piast entered the match ninth with 13 points from nine games, while Widzew sat 13th with nine points from the same number of matches, according to Przeglad Sportowy Onet. Kickoff was scheduled for 2:45 p.m. local time.

The meeting also brought Piast coach Daniel Mysliwiec up against his former club, while Widzew arrived under new coach Mateusz Stolarski after drawing his first two matches in charge. Widzew had won its previous five meetings with Piast, according to the historical record published by WidzewToMy. The Lodz side had also gone six league matches without a victory before Sunday's fixture, with its last three outings ending in draws.

The head-to-head record listed by WidzewToMy included 19 league meetings, with Widzew winning 10, Piast winning five and four ending in draws. Widzew held a 23-18 advantage in goals across those encounters.

Mysliwiec said the international break had given his players time to recover before returning to intensive training. He assessed the team's preparation positively during a news conference reported by Sportowe Fakty. He also said the squad had responded well to the physical workload, while the team's performance would ultimately be assessed in competitive action. Piast had used a friendly against Wisla Krakow to evaluate its condition during the break.

Discussing Widzew's new coaching arrangement, Mysliwiec said he did not anticipate major tactical changes despite Stolarski having more preparation time than usual. He expected the visitors to build on the approach they had shown in their opening matches under the new coach. He emphasized that Piast was preparing for multiple possibilities rather than relying on one expected tactical setup. The coach said his team was working to identify ways to respond even to developments it might not initially anticipate.

Mysliwiec also addressed the death of longtime Piast stadium announcer Andrzej Slugocki, whose passing had been announced by the club the previous week. The team had adjusted its training schedule to allow players and staff to attend the farewell, according to Sportowe Fakty. The coach said the gathering demonstrated the club community's solidarity during a difficult period.

He noted that many foreign players had not known Slugocki personally but recognized his voice from matches. Widzew's confirmed starting lineup, published by the club's official website, featured goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski, with Steve Kapuadi, Giannis Papanikolaou, Mariusz Fornalczyk, Emil Kornvig, Fran Alvarez, Przemyslaw Wisniewski, Mario Garcia, Jusuf Gazibegovic, Stipe Biuk and Sebastian Bergier completing the starting 11.

Widzew named Veljko Ilic among its substitutes, alongside Mateusz Zyro, Juljan Shehu, Ricardo Visus, Lindon Selahi, Darian Males, Antoni Klukowski, Karol Swiderski, Dani Silva, Ioan Vermesan and Marcel Krajewski. Jan Krzywanski, Franciszek Golanski, Carlos Isaac, Christopher Cheng, Lukas Lerager, Szymon Czyz and Paulinho were left out of the matchday squad.

The club reported that Cheng was unavailable because of illness, while Paulinho had begun individual ball-training sessions. Before kickoff, the teams observed a minute of silence in memory of Slugocki, as reported in the live coverage by Przeglad Sportowy Onet.