Our prediction for this Champions League match:
Tallaght Stadium will host Thursday’s football game between Shamrock Rovers and Sparta Prague, who face each other in the Champions League second qualifying round, first leg. The Hoops survived Vikingur Reykjavik in round 2, but their strength will be at stake this time out as they face the Czech champions in the upcoming double-header. Both Lee Grace and Rory Gaffney are sidelined with injuries, speaking of the home team.
The visitors, on the other hand, kicked off the new domestic campaign with a 2-1 win over FK Pardubice. As Sparta Prague aim to get their job done in the first leg, away win should definitely be considered. Both Preciado and Haraslin return to the starting XI after the duo was rested in the league match. The likes of Karinen and Sorensen are sidelined with injuries, while Mokrovics is out with heart problems for the visiting team.
Highlighted Team (Sparta Prague):
![Sparta Prague](https://footballpredictions.com/wp-content/plugins/fp-highlights/imageid/team/476.png)
Established in 1893, Sparta Prague is one of Europe’s oldest clubs and the most successful side in Czech Republic, having won no fewer than 36 league titles and 27 Czech Cup trophies. The club play their games at the Generali Arena in Prague and hold a long-lasting rivalry with Slavia Prague.
Sparta Prague enjoyed their Golden Years in the 1960’s, when average attendance was nearly 40,000 and players like Jiri Tichy, Andrej Kvasnak and Vaclav Masek entertained the crowds week in week out. Rudi largely impressed in the maiden Champions League campaign during the 1991/92 season as they finished second in the semi-final group, meaning they were among top 4 European sides at the moment.
Nevertheless, Sparta Prague have enjoyed little to no success on the European stage since, reaching the Champions League knockout stages on just one occasion, with their latest major coup the return of prodigal son Tomas Rosicky from Arsenal.