Statistical data before the opening match Malmö FF – Sparta Prague:
Kick-off: Wednesday 21 August, 21:00.
Referee: Gil Manzano – Barbero, Nevado – Munuera (video, all Sp.)
Balance sheet (club):
Sweden – CR (Czechoslovakia): 29 5-10-14 31:44
1974/75 UEFA: Djurgaarden – Dukla Prague 0:2, 1:3,
1985/86 PVP: Dukla Praha – AIK Stockholm 1:0, 2:2,
1986/87 UEFA: Olomouc – IFK Gothenburg 1:1, 0:4,
1987/88 UEFA: Vítkovice – AIK Stockholm 1:1, 2:0,
1993/94 LM: AIK Stockholm – Sparta Praha 1:0, 0:2,
1994/95 LM: Sparta Praha – IFK Gothenburg 1:0, 0:2,
1994/95 PVP: Žižkov – Norrköping 1:0, 3:3,
1994/95 UEFA: AIK Stockholm – Slavia Prague 0:0, 2:2,
1996/97 UEFA: Malmö – Slavia Praha 1:2, 1:3,
1997/98 UEFA: Jablonec – Örebro 1:1, 0:0,
2000/01 UEFA: Norrköping – Liberec 2:2, 1:2,
2007/08 UEFA: Elfsborg – Mladá Boleslav 1:3,
2012/13 EL: Sparta Praha – Hecken 2:2, 0:1,
2014/15 LM: Sparta Praha – Malmö 4:2, 0:2.
2022/23 EKL: Slovakia – AIK Stockholm 3:0, 1:0.
Note: Matches of the Trade Fair Cup and the Intertoto Cup are not included in the overview.
Estimated lineups:
Malmö: Dahlin – Stryger, Jansson, Zetterström, Busanello – Rieks, Peňa, Johnsen, Nanasi – Kiese Thelin, Botheim.
Sparta: Vindahl – Vitík, Sörensen, Zelený – Wiesner, Kairinen, Laci, Ryneš – Birmančevič, Haraslín – Olatunji.
Absence: Lewicki, Moisander, Tinnerholm, Vecchia – García (all injured).
Points of interest:
– the teams only met in the cups in the 2014/15 season in the 3rd preliminary round of the LM, when Sparta was eliminated after a 4:2 home win and a 0:2 away loss due to the then rule about the number of goals scored on the opponent’s field
– the rivals met in February in preparation, when Sparta won 2:1
– Malmö lost 3 out of 4 cup matches against Czech teams
– Sparta won only one of the last 5 cup duels with Swedish teams
– Sparta lost all 4 cup matches on the field of Swedish opponents and did not score a goal in them
– In double matches with Swedish teams, Sparta was eliminated in cups 3 times in a row
– Malmö played the main stage of PMEZ/LM 3 times and were eliminated in the group each time, Sparta 8 times
– Malmö last played LM in 2021/22
– Since the last promotion to the LM group in the 2005/06 season, Sparta has been eliminated in the qualifiers 9 times in a row
– Sparta is in the final preliminary round of the LM after 14 years, when it was not enough for Žilina
– teams have completed 2 preliminary rounds; Malmö eliminated Klaksvík from the Faroe Islands and then PAOK Thessaloniki, Sparta dealt with Irish Shamrock Rovers and Romanian FCSB
– In this year’s qualification, Malmö did not lose in 2 home matches and scored 6 goals
– In this year’s qualification, Sparta did not lose in 4 matches (including 3 wins) and won both away matches
– teams have certain minimum participation in the main phase of the Europa League
– Malmö lost only one of 15 duels at home in the competitive season
– Sparta did not lose in 9 competitive matches this year (including 8 wins) and scored at least 2 goals in 8 of them
– Since March, Sparta has won 12 consecutive competitive matches away from home
– Malmö beat Norrköping 2:1 at home in the general season and leads the Swedish league, which is played in the spring-autumn system, by 9 points
– Sparta won 2:1 in Jablonec and leads the league by 2 points ahead of Slavia
– the teams are the reigning champions of their countries and record holders in the number of titles
– Sparta winger Birmančević worked in Malmö from 2021 to 2022, won the league and the Swedish Cup with him and played with him in the LM
– the Danish assistant coach of Sparta Askou led IFK Göteborg before his current engagement
– Zelený (Sparta) celebrates his 32nd birthday today
