On Thursday evening, from 20:00, Sparta Prague and AC Milan face Generali Ceska in Prague, in the last stage of Group H of the UEFA Europa League. The Italians have already obtained the tickets for the eliminatory phase, while Sparta Prague remained “with a swollen lip”, although it was superior to Celtic. Florin Nita’s team will finish on the 3rd place, because Lille is also qualified in the next phase.
Lille was the best team in Group H and escaped without fail so far (goal average 12-5), with three victories and two defeats. The Turkish legion from Lille made the difference in the group, but Milan also has solid arguments for a good run. Stefano Pioli’s team goes “clock” in the championship and is secretly thinking about winning the first European trophy after a long break. It is possible that Ibrahimovic and other “devils” stars will be rested on Thursday night. For Milan, heavy tests in the championship follow, and coach Pioli and his students attack all fronts.
With 5 goals in Group H, Julis is one of the top scorers in the competition, but Sparta Prague suffered a lot from a defensive point of view during this campaign. Florin Nita’s team comes after two consecutive defeats, 1-2 with Lille in the Europa League and 0-3 with Slavia Prague, in the championship derby. Usually, Sparta Prague is involved in spectacular matches and Thursday’s match should be no exception. Instead, Milan comes after four successes and a draw in the last five official games: 3-1 with Napoli, 2-0 with Fiorentina, 4-2 with Celtic and 2-1 at Sampdoria. Among these results, the draw from Lille (1-1) also slipped, which practically ensured the 2nd place for the Italians.
In the round, AC Milan won against Sparta Prague 3-0, after the goals of Diaz (’24), Leao (’57) and Dalot (’67). In that match, Ibrahimovic missed a penalty in the 36th minute, but that didn’t matter in the economy of the final result. The superiority of the Italians was obvious, as in the direct meetings of other years. In 2004, the last time the two teams met, AC Milan won 4-1 in the UEFA Champions League groups, at home, after 0-0 in the Czech Republic. In the 5 direct matches played against the San Siro team, Sparta scored only one goal!
On Thursday night, the hosts will not be able to count on a series of important players: Celustka, Dockal, Hlozek, Stetina, Kozak, Polidar and Sacek. The Italians will not have Ibrahimovic, Leao and Musacchio in the group. Milan’s most likely scorer may be Samu Castillejo, who has scored in the last three consecutive games, including his previous trip to the UEFA Europa League. Sparta Prague have not drawn yet this season, but the “X” is probably in Thursday’s duel. On the other hand, Sparta did not lose in the 6 games played at home against the rivals from Serie A! Florin Nita is announced as the owner of the hosts, he has a good chance to assert himself. Tatarusanu will not play for AC Milan, in whose goal will remain “Gigi” Donnarumma.
Sparta: Nita – Plechaty, Pavelka, Hanousek – Vindheim, Karabec, Travnik, Soucek, Krejci – Julis, Karlsson
Coach: Václav Kotal
AC Milan: Donnarumma – Dalot, Kjaer, Gabbia, Hernandez – Bennacer, Krunic – Castillejo, Diaz, Hauge – Rebic
Coach: Stefano Pioli
At least three goals have been scored in the last 8 matches played by Sparta Prague in the Europa League;
Sparta Prague have not drawn in 16 official matches this season;
With 8 victories in 10 stages of Serie A, AC Milan dominates the ranking in Italy;
Samu Castillejo have scored in the last 3 consecutive matches played for Milan;
Only in one of Milan’s last 15 matches did the host team lead to the break;
PREDICTION: AC Milan to win @ 1,55
