The reigning Czech champions faced Galatasaray Istanbul in February’s 2nd round. They lost 2:3 in Turkey, but won 4:1 in the home rematch. Now they will challenge the six-time winner of the Champions League (formerly the European Cup).
“We are in a good position with confidence, but we are facing one of the best teams in Europe at the moment. It will be a very difficult game, both teams have a tough schedule behind them. We are outsiders against such a team,” said Sparta coach Brian Priske after Sunday’s goalless league derby with Slavia, in front of which his wards lead the table by four points.
The Spartans have not lost any of the 18 competitive duels at home this season in normal playing time (Copenhagen lost only on penalties in the Champions League qualification) and under Prisk in the seven cup matches at Letná so far (also after 90 minutes or extra time) they have not found a winner.
“When we play at home, we can do something extra, which is necessary in such matches. The boys are looking forward to this challenge. Our task is to prepare them and try to progress,” said Priske. He played against Liverpool as a player of Portsmouth and then as a coach of Midtjylland in the group of the Champions League. In the second case, the English team was already led by Klopp.
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Sparta failed against Liverpool in February 2011 after a goalless home draw and a 0:1 away loss. The Reds have not lost in the previous four cup matches against Czech teams and have won three of them. In autumn 2000, they played against Liberec in the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup (current European League).
However, Czech teams generally do not have a good balance with English teams. At home, they won against any of the opponents from the islands in only one of the seventeen games, which was EL Sparta’s match with Southampton in November 2016, through which the Praguers advanced to the play-offs.
“At this stage of the European Cups, you expect a real test and that’s exactly what we got. Sparta qualified for the round of 16 with an amazing match and result against Galatasaray. The Czech League shows how good a season Sparta is having, they’ve only lost once in it so far. We have to be ready,” he said Klopp, who announced in January that he would leave the club after the season.
Liverpool is suffering from a big problem, for example goalkeeper Alisson Becker, defender Trent Alexander-Arnold or gunner Muhammad Salah are missing due to injuries. Space is thus given to a number of youngsters from the club’s academy, who participated in winning the League Cup in the final against Chelsea at the end of February. The Reds are in contention for three more trophies, in addition to the Europa League, the FA Cup and the league. They lead the Premier League by a point ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who they face at home on Sunday.
While Slavia will only reach the knockout stages thanks to their group win, AC Milan have already moved past Rennes after reaching the Europa League spring stage from third place in the Champions League. In the last round, the Italian club laid the foundation for progress with a 3-0 home victory, then lost 2-3 in France.
The Czech vice-champion faced AS Rome in the group. While Vršovičtí lost 0:2 away, they won by the same ratio at home. Now they will face an even bigger paper favorite, currently the third team in the Italian league.
“These matches are worth the reward. We know what awaits us, we watch AC Milan basically every week. The atmosphere there is famous. Our team is well tuned, but it will only show on the pitch,” said Zdeněk Houštecký, assistant to head coach Jindřich Trpišovský .
The Slavists have lost only one of their last 14 competitive matches, but have not won twice in a row. A week ago, they lost to Sparta in the quarter-finals of the domestic cup 2:3 after extra time, on Sunday they drew in the league without goals at the city rival’s stadium, and they are still four points behind them in the table.
Apparently the main star of AC Milan is Olivier Giroud. With 12 goals, the 37-year-old French gunner is third in this season’s scorers table in the Italian league, but he has scored only once in his last five starts. Midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek shone with two goals against Rennes, another star is winger Rafael Leao.
Milan lost only one of their 12 matches against Czech teams in the cups and won all six at home. Coach Stefano Pioli remains cautious. “There are no easy opponents in Europe. In addition, Slavia won their group against AS Roma and is fighting for victory in the domestic league. We have to be careful,” said the coach.
The Slavists will once again solve problems with absences in the midfield, Petr Ševčík and Christos Zafeiris will again be missing due to injury. Against Sparta, Lukáš Masopust started in the midfield.
The Red and Whites will present themselves at the famous stadium with a capacity of almost 76,000 seats after four and a half years, in September 2019 in the first match of the Champions League group, they drew 1:1 with Inter, AC’s city rival, after conceding a goal in the set-up. The people of Prague will be driven forward by a sold-out sector of guests and almost five thousand fans.