With Liverpool to face Sparta Prague next up in the Europa League, we took a closer look at their last-16 opponents who have not lost at home this season.
With a surprisingly strong selection of sides in the last 16 of the Europa League, Liverpool supporters were quite pleased when the Reds came out of the hat to play in the Czech Republic.
While the tie against Sparta Prague is definitely a choice we would have made over a long trip to play Qarabag in Azerbaijan, the Czech outfit shouldn’t be underestimated.
Are they any good?
Well, the facts suggest they are. However, this doesn’t mean Liverpool shouldn’t beat them comfortably.
With 60 points won from a possible 69, they are the current Czech champions and lead the way by four points over Slavia Prague – with whom they contested a 0-0 draw in the lead-up to the Reds’ visit.
Their neighbours, Slavia, have themselves, drawn AC Milan in the Europa League round of 16.
Sparta are on a great run of form, having won 10 of their last 12 matches, including a win against Real Betis.
That sole defeat in their last 12 games was a 3-2 loss in this competition to Galatasaray in Turkey, a game that saw Sparta twice equalise before the hosts clinched a 90th-minute winner.
Who to look out for
Journalist Bence Bocsak says Ladislav Krejci and Martin Vitik as arguably their biggest threats.
?? Really looking forward to watching both Ladislav Krej?í and Martin Vitik playing against #LFC in the Europa League.
They’ve been on my radar for a while now.
Vitik is a top CB prospect. Krej?í is versatile (can play CB and CDM) and has 25 goal contributions 44 games in his… pic.twitter.com/w7IwTFIhj4
— Bence Bocsák (@BenBocsak) February 23, 2024
Lukas Haraslin is their top scorer this season (14 in all competitions), often playing from the left, while Jan Kuchta and Veljko Birmancevic have also contributed, scoring 10 and 11 goals respectively so far this campaign.
As their sporting director, former Arsenal player Tomas Rosicky should make the trip to Anfield, too. Their manager is ex-Portsmouth player Brian Priske.
How did they reach the last 16
Having dropped out of the Champions League after losing on penalties to Copenhagen in the third qualifying round, they drew Rangers, Real Betis and Aris Limassol in the Europa League.
In Group C, a win against Cypriot club Aris Limassol got them off to a good start, but defeat away to Betis put them in a tricky position.
Their next game, a hard-fought 0-0 against Rangers proved the difference maker in the group, as they lost the return match at Ibrox but won their final two matches to progress.
They ultimately finished second in their group, one point behind Rangers but one ahead of Betis.
That meant they were forced to play a play-off round, they faced a Galatasaray side including Dries Mertens, Mauro Icardi and Lucas Torreira.
They made light work of them in the second leg, though, winning 4-1 at home to progress 6-4 on aggregate.
Where do Sparta Prague play?
The Letna Stadium has been the home of Sparta Prague since 1917 and is close to the city centre, something that will please travelling Kopites.
Known commercially as the epet ARENA, the ground has a capacity of just under 19,000, meaning it will have been even more difficult than usual for Liverpool fans to get tickets.
They are unbeaten at home this season – if you exclude their loss on penalties in the Champions League to Copenhagen – and have won 16 of those other 18 matches – not an easy place to go!
We’ve met before
Take a look at that team! We’ve come a long way since 2011.
The lineup the last time Liverpool played against Sparta Prague was in 2011, this was the team: Reina, Kelly, Kyrgiakos, Agger, Wilson, Meireles, Poulsen, Lucas, Cole, Kuyt, Ngog.
A 0-0 draw away from home was followed by a 1-0 win at Anfield, with Dirk Kuyt the only goalscorer as the Reds progressed to the Europa League last 16.
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