Sparta Prague host Partizan at the Generali Ceska Pojistovna Arena for the first leg of the last 32 of Europa Conference League on Thursday night with kickoff at 23:00.
Sparta Prague were unable to make it to the knockout stages of the Europa League, but thanks to a 2-0 victory against Brondbly in their last group fixture, they were able to secure a third place finish which send them to the knockout playoffs of the Europa Conference League.
Prague have been inconsistent recently with the side recording one win, two draws and one defeat in their last four matches across all competitions and are coming off a 2-2 draw against Plzen at home in Czech First League.
Therefore, Iron Sparta will be looking to bounce back as they aim at advancing deep in the competition, while also aim at aim gaining their confidence back for the Czech First League title race. They will draw confidence from their impressive league run that seen them claim 47 points from their 21 matches to sit third four points behind both Praha and Plzen.
The Czechs are tough to beat at home, but they are facing an opponent that boasts a far better recent domestic record.
Indeed, Partizan, who booked their place in the playoffs by finishing second behind Gent in Group B of the tournament, are in good form having only lost one of their last eight matches across all competitions, claiming six victories in the run and they currently sit at the summit of Serbian SuperLiga with five points in the clear.
They are coming off a confidence bosting 2-0 away win against Randnicki Nis in the SuperLiga and they will need to draw on all their momentum acquired in their domestic campaigns to secure a place in the knockouts past Sparta Prague who will be a significant step up for an opponent.
Sparta Prague vs Partizan head to head
Both sides have met once in a friendly back in 2005 with Partizan claiming a 3-0 away win, but concerning the occasion and time past it will be fascinating to see if they ca achieve a similar scoreline.
Home
- Sparta Prague 2-2 Plzen
- Slavia Prague 0-2 Sparta Prague
- Ceske 0-0 Sparta Prague
- Lokomotiv Moscow 3-2 Sparta Prague
- Rostov 0-2 Sparta Prague
Away
- Radnicki 0-2 Partizan
- Dinamo Moscow 2-1 Partizan
- Partizan 1-0 Kolubara
- Metalac 0-3 Partizan
- Partizan 1-1 Anorthosis Famagusta
Sparta Prague team news
Sparta Prague have no injury or suspension concerns.
Partizan team news
Partizan also have no injury or suspension concerns.
Prediction and odds
- Sparta Prague win
- Draw
- Goals under 2.5
