𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐈𝐏𝐋 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 🏏👉
The attention of Club football will shift towards the round of 16 the Europa League on Friday as Liverpool meets Sparta Praha for the 2nd leg at Anfield. The hosts carry an advantage of 4 goals from the 1st leg and hence the pressure won’t be too high.
This is the third time Liverpool will be hosting a Czech opponent and the occasion is happening after 12 years. Previously they have hosted Slovan Liberec and Sparta Prague.
Sparta Praha carries a poor record on the English sub-continent. They have recorded a single win in the last 11 fixtures and that too came in the 1983-84 season against Watford.
The Reds have a strong defence and Sparta Praha won’t get many chances to take the shots.
The betting tip is...
Liverpool to keep a clean sheet.
66 %
34 %
Jurgen Klopp and his boys are now eyeing the finale of the Europa League. In the previous fixture, the Reds witnessed a draw against the Citizens by 1-1 at Anfield. It was a close fixture with Liverpool recording a possession of 53%.
Overall, Liverpool carries an average possession of 61% in the ongoing season which showcases their class. It is because of the same reason their hopes to reach the pinnacle remain high. They have taken an average of 14.82 shots in every game with a conversion of 16% on target. Mohamed Salah is their leading scorer with 15 goals and 9 assists to his name. Darwin Núñez has recorded 10 goals and 7 assists this season.
Their defence remains their strength as the club has conceded an average of 0.93 goals this season. They have also won 9 clean sheets out of 28 fixtures this season.
Liverpool has a long list of injuries with Joel Matip (knee), Ben Doak (knee), Diogo Jota (knee), Trent Alexander-Arnold (knee), Thiago Alcantara (muscle), Curtis Jones (shin), Alisson Becker (hamstring), Stefan Bajcetic (calf) and Ryan Gravenberch (ankle) in the injury room.
Predicted Lineup: Kelleher; Gomez, Quansah, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; McConnell, Endo, Szoboszlai; Elliott, Gakpo, Koumas
Iron Sparta is coming to play the 2nd leg of the round of 16 after witnessing a devastating 4-0 loss against Viktoria Plzen in an away setup. Brian Priske will be worried about the upcoming fixture as the team already holds chances to get eliminated from the European competition.
Overall, Sparta Praha has displayed an average possession stats of 54% - which is much less than their upcoming opponents. They also recorded an average of 12.58 shots in every game with a conversion of 18% shots on target. Lukáš Haraslín is their highest scorer this season with 10 goals and 4 assists to his name. Veljko Birmančević has 9 assists and 7 goals to his name.
When it comes to the defence, Sparta Praha’s stats speak a different story. They did fail to defend in the 1st leg but the club has a strong lineup of defence. They have conceded an average of 0.79 goals this season and have won 11 clean sheets out of 24 fixtures this season.
Andreas Vindheim suffered an injury last week and won’t be travelling with the team for the Europa League fixture.
Predicted Lineup: Vindahl; Vitik, Krejci, Sorensen; Preciado, Kairinen, Laci, Rynes; Birmancevic, Kuchta, Haraslin
Iron Sparta will be under immense pressure even before the start of the fixture. They need to start the game aggressively but the Czech club is not well aware of Anfield where Liverpool rules the game.
The Reds won’t make any mistakes at their home ground and will be expected to increase their lead over the visitors. We predict a win for Liverpool on Friday.
