close
close

Preview: Sparta Prague vs. Atletico Madrid – prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Champions League match between Sparta Prague and Atletico Madrid, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Sparta Prague And Atletico Madrid will lock horns on Tuesday night for the first time in their respective histories, and both sides will be under pressure to get a positive result due to their troubles in the Champions League this season.

Atletico sit 23rd in the Champions League overall standings, having picked up just six points from their four games in the competition, while Sparta are 26th, having collected four points from their first four games in 2024- 2025.


Match example

Albion Rrahmani of Sparta Prague celebrates on August 31, 2024© Image

Sparta made an encouraging start to the 2024/25 Champions League season by beating Red Bull Salzburg 3-0 before drawing 1-1 with Stuttgart to give them four points from the first two games, but they have since defeated and defeated twice. 5-0 at Manchester City before falling 2-1 behind at home to Brest.

There are four points left from four games Lars Friis‘s team is in 26th place in the Champions League, one point behind PSV Eindhoven in 24th, which would be enough for a place in the play-offs.

Sparta are effectively on a four-match winless run in all competitions, drawing their last two in the league against Mlada Boleslav and Teplice, leaving them fourth in the Czech First League, 11 points behind leaders Slavia Prague.

The Reds have won five of their previous 11 home games against Spanish opponents in the Champions League and lost six, but they have won in three of their last four home games against La Liga and won seven of their last 13 European home games. , losing only twice.

After this match, Sparta will play three more matches in the competitive phase of the Champions League, heading to Feyenoord in their last European match of 2024 before facing Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen in January.

Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez on September 19, 2024© Image

Atletico, meanwhile, are in a good place heading into this match, having secured victory in each of their last five matches in all competitions, including a 2-1 victory over Alaves in La Liga on Saturday.

Diego Simeone‘s side is now second in the La Liga tablefive points behind leaders Barcelona, ​​while last time they recorded a huge victory in the Champions League, beating Paris Saint-Germain in the French capital.

However, the red and whites have lost to both Benfica and Lille in the league this season and are currently in 23rd place in the Champions League. They only get six points from four games and score only five times.

Atletico have not faced Czech opposition since the 2012/13 Europa League group stage, when they defeated Viktoria Plzen at home but suffered defeat in the reverse fixture on their travels.

The capital giants reached the Champions League finals in both 2014 and 2016, while they have been in the knockout rounds of the competition in nine of their last eleven campaigns, so it would be a huge shock if the Red and Whites fail to make it manage to find their way to the next round of the competition.

Sparta Prague Champions League Form:

Sparta Prague form (all competitions):

Atletico Madrid Champions League Form:

Atletico Madrid form (all competitions):


Team news

Jose Maria Gimenez of Atletico Madrid in action on October 6, 2024© Image

Sparta will be without the services of Veljko Burmancevic (thigh) and Angelo Preciado (knee) due to an injury on Tuesday, but the Czech team has reported no new concerns.

Victor Olatunji has been in strong form for the Czech side this season, finding the back of the net eight times, and the 25-year-old will once again captain the home side here.

Albion Rrahmani is another key player for Sparta, with four goals and one assist in fourteen appearances, and there should also be a spot for the number 10 in the final third of the pitch.

Atletico, meanwhile, will once again be without the services of Thomas Lemar due to a muscle problem; Robin Le Normand He is also unlikely to feature despite recently returning to training after a horrific head injury.

Nahuel Molina was forced to withdraw from the Argentina squad during the November international break due to injury, and he missed Saturday against Alaves, so the defender is a major doubt.

Marcos Llorente And Cesar Azpilicueta However, are now fit again and Simeone will make changes from the squad that started on Saturday Julian Alvarez, Rodrigo DePaul, Jose Gimenez And Conor Gallagher all lining up for the start.

Possible starting line-up of Sparta Prague:
Vindahl; Vitik, Panak, Cobbaut; Wiesner, Laci, Kairinen, Rynes; Pesek, Olatunji, Rrahmani

Atletico Madrid possible starting lineup:
Oblak; Azpilicueta, Gimenez, Lenglet, Galan; Llorente, De Paul, Barrios, Gallagher; Griezmann, Alvarez


SM words green background

We say: Sparta Prague 0-1 Atletico Madrid

Sparta is certainly capable of making it an uncomfortable match for Atletico, who have not been at their best in the league this season. However, we expect Simeone’s side to find a way to secure all three points on Tuesday, which would certainly put them in a much more comfortable position in the table.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match, click here.


ID:558926:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db-desktop:LenBod:collect12725:

Previews by email

Click here to obtain Sports mole‘s daily email with previews and predictions for every major game!