Champions League | League Stage

Nov 6, 2024 at 8pm UK

Epet Arena

Sparta Prague vs Brest

Match preview

Sparta Prague are back in the Champions League for the first time in almost two decades and have taken a respectable four points from their opening three games against Red Bull Salzburg, Stuttgart and Manchester City.

After beating Salzburg 3-0 on the opening day and holding Stuttgart to a 1-1 draw in Germany on the second, the Maroons were thrashed 5-0 away to Man City two weeks ago - their heaviest defeat in any competition since a 6-1 thrashing at Liverpool in the Europa League in March 2023.

Despite this, Lars Friis' side remain in contention for at least a play-off spot in the 36-team UCL, sitting in 21st place and just three points off the top eight at the halfway stage.

Since returning to domestic action, Sparta's title defence in the Czech First Division has suffered a major setback as they have lost their last two league games to Viktoria Pilsen (1-0) and Banik Ostrava (3-1), the latter at home last weekend, leaving them third in the standings and 11 points behind leaders Slavia Prague, who also have a game in hand.

The Maroons will now turn their attention back to the Champions League, and with games against Atletico Madrid, Feyenoord, Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen on the horizon, Wednesday's clash with Brest is on paper their best chance of picking up maximum points. However, they go into the game having lost their last six European matches against French clubs, conceding 18 goals in the process.

After finishing third in the French top flight last season, Brest have made the most of their first campaign in European competition so far, surprising many by picking up seven points from a possible nine in the Champions League.

Les Pirates won their first two matches against Sturm Graz (2-1) and Red Bull Salzburg (4-0) before holding Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen to a 1-1 draw on matchday three, Pierre Lees-Melou cancelling out an earlier Florian Wirtz strike.

Eric Roy's side currently sit fifth in the 36-team UCL and, with tricky tests against Barcelona and Real Madrid still to come, will see Wednesday's clash with Sparta Prague as an opportunity to boost their hopes of reaching the last 16.

Since sharing the spoils with Leverkusen, Brest have suffered a couple of defeats in Ligue 1: a 2-1 away win over Reims was followed by a 1-0 home defeat to Nice last weekend to leave them 10th in the table, five points adrift of the top three after 10 games.

However, they must now turn their attention back to the Champions League, where they will be hoping to become only the fourth French club to go unbeaten in their opening four games in the competition, joining Marseille (nine), PSG (eight) and Bordeaux (six).

Recent Performance

Sparta Prague Champions League form:WWWWDL

Sparta Prague form (all competitions):DLWLLL

Brest Champions League form:WWD

Brest form (all competitions):WWDDWL

Team News

Sparta Prague duo Imanol Garcia (knee) and Indrit Tuci (unspecified) are both out with injuries, while Ermal Krasniqi is a doubt after picking up an unspecified problem just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute against Banik.

Lukas Haraslin (hamstring), Veljko Birmancevic (thigh) and Angelo Preciado (knock) are also doubts after missing last weekend's game and will all be assessed before kick-off.

Asger Sorensen, who scored last weekend's goal, is set to continue at the heart of defence alongside Filip Panak and Martin Vitik, while Tomas Wiesner and Matej Rynes could provide width at full-back with either Albion Rrahmani or Victor Olatunji leading the line.

For Brest, Bradley Locko and Abdallah Sima - who has scored three Champions League goals this season - will both miss out with Achilles and hamstring injuries respectively, while Luck Zogbe is ineligible as he was not selected in the club's Champions League squad, but would have been a doubt anyway with a concussion.

Romain Del Castillo overcame a minor calf problem to play 79 minutes against Nice last time out, and the winger is in contention to continue on the right flank alongside Ludovic Ajorque and either Mama Balde or Ibrahim Salah.

Lees-Melou, Mahdi Camara and Hugo Magnetti are all set to retain their places in midfield, while Roy will consider whether to stick with Jordan Amavi or recall Massadio Haidara.

Possible starting lineups

Sparta Prague possible starting lineup:

Vindahl; Vitik, Panak, Sorensen; Wiesner, Kairinen, Laci, Rynes; Pavelka, Sadilek; Olatunji

Brest possible starting lineup:

Bizot; Lala, Chardonnet, Coulibaly, Haidara; Camara, Lees-Melou, Magnetti; Del Castillo, Ajorque, Balde