Europa League: Sparta Prague vs Liverpool Live
Preview: Sparta Prague vs Liverpool
In the Europa League round of 16, Sparta Prague vs Liverpool will take place at the Epet Arena on Thursday at 5:45pm. Liverpool, who topped Group E to skip the knockout round playoffs, will be making the challenging trip to face Brian Priske’s team, who staged an impressive comeback against Galatasaray, who dropped out of the Champions League.
In the Europa league Group C, Sparta Prague finished as runners-up to Rangers by just a point. This set up a tough match against Galatasaray, who had recently performed well against Manchester United in the Champions League. Although Sparta Prague lost the first leg in Turkey 3-2, they staged a remarkable comeback in the second leg, scoring three goals in 20 minutes to secure a thrilling 4-1 victory and a 6-4 aggregate win.
They are now aiming to reach the Europa League quarter-finals for the second time, having previously been eliminated by Villarreal in the last eight in 2015-16. Sparta Prague has been in good form at home, remaining unbeaten in 15 games at the Epet Arena since their Champions League qualifying defeat to Copenhagen in August.
Liverpool, on the other hand, have already broken a curse on the road this month with a controversial win at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground. Despite benefiting from a disputed drop-ball decision, Jurgen Klopp’s team secured their first-ever Premier League away win against Nottingham Forest with a late goal by Darwin Nunez in the 99th minute. Liverpool, who have already won the EFL Cup and have an upcoming FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester United, are now focusing on their Europa League campaign after topping Group E.
Head-to-head
These two teams have faced each other only twice before, with Liverpool remaining undefeated (1 win and 1 draw) in both encounters. Their previous match at this venue took place in 2011 and resulted in a scoreless draw.
Prediction
Sparta Prague has not allowed more than one goal in a competitive home game since September. Priske’s team is expected to be confident about maintaining this record against Liverpool, who have historically struggled in away games in the Europa League. Liverpool, facing selection challenges due to key players being absent and an upcoming match against Manchester City, may be content with a draw in the first leg in Prague before aiming to secure a win at Anfield in the second leg.
