Both sitting on three points after two games, Sparta Prague and Rangers will do battle in the Czech capital on Thursday in the third round of Europa League group-stage matches.
The visitors will play their first continental game under the management of Philippe Clement, who began his tenure with a league win at the weekend, and they will battle to take top spot in the group at the halfway stage.
Match preview
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After winning their 31st Czech First League title last time around, and their first since 2014, Sparta Prague began their new continental campaign in the third round of Champions League qualifying, but they were unable to book a place in Europe's top competition, losing by the barest of margins in a penalty shootout after a 3-3 aggregate draw with Copenhagen across two legs in August.
That exit meant that Brian Priske's side dropped into the playoff round of the Europa League, and after losing 3-1 in their first leg against Dinamo Zagreb, the Czech champions would turn the tie on its head and progress into the group stage with a 4-1 home victory in Prague at the end of August.
Their group campaign then began at home to Aris Limassol, and after going behind early on, the Zelezna Sparta turned the game around and took all three points, as Ladislav Krejci hit a quickfire brace before Martin Vitik added a crucial third in an eventual 3-2 win.
Aiming to build on their opening three-point haul and establish themselves as frontrunners in the bid to qualify for the knockout stage, Priske's men then faced the tough test of a trip to Spanish side Real Betis in early October, and after a valiant effort in which they went ahead inside three minutes through Veljko Birmancevic, they eventually left empty-handed as Assane Diao quickly equalised and Isco netted the winning goal for their hosts 11 minutes from time.
Now on the back of consecutive league wins since that narrow defeat, most recently beating Ceske Budejovice 4-0 on Sunday thanks to goals from Kaan Kairinen, Jakub Pesek, Asger Sorensen and Michal Sevcik to stay two points clear at the top of the domestic table, Sparta Prague will look to return to winning ways in the group stage on home soil on Thursday to go three points clear of Rangers heading into the final three rounds of games.
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After finishing second in the Scottish Premiership last season, Rangers also entered Champions League qualifying in the third round this year, and they moved to within one tie of the group stage by beating Servette 3-2 on aggregate, only to fall short at the final hurdle as they suffered a 7-3 defeat to PSV Eindhoven over two legs in the playoff round.
That did, at least, grant the Glasgow side automatic entry into the group stage of the Europa League, the competition which they reached the final of in 2022, and they made an impressive start by beating Real Betis 1-0 at Ibrox in September, as Abdallah Sima netted the only goal of the game soon after the hour mark.
The Gers, under the temporary stewardship of Steven Davis following Michael Beale's departure, then travelled to Aris Limassol at the beginning of the month with the aim of making it back-to-back wins to start the group campaign, but they would come away from the second gameweek empty-handed, eventually suffering a 2-1 defeat in Cyprus with Sima's 70th-minute goal not enough to trigger a turnaround after Alex Moucketou-Moussounda and Shavy Babicka put the hosts 2-0 up.
Following that setback and a 3-0 league victory over St Mirren, Rangers took steps to appoint Philippe Clement as their new manager over the international break, and he will now take charge of his first continental outing as Gers boss on the back of a 4-0 thrashing of Hibernian in the opening game of his tenure at the weekend, as Sima netted a brace alongside goals from Nicolas Raskin and Cyriel Dessers.
The Glasgow giants did remain seven points behind rivals Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership despite that victory, and they will now turn their focus back to their Europa League campaign with the aim of going top of a tight group with an away win in Prague.
Team News
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Sparta Prague have tended to line up in a 3-4-3 shape for the majority of this season, and they remain without a key part of the attack heading into Thursday's contest, as Lukas Haraslin, who has netted a team-high tally of eight goals in 15 appearances in all competitions so far this term, remains confined to the treatment room with a calf injury.
Jakub Pesek came into the front three in his absence, and after scoring their second goal against Ceske Budejovice, he should keep his place in the front line in support of Jan Kuchta, who has starred with five goals and four assists in 10 Czech First League appearances this campaign.
Veljko Birmancevic also boasts five goals so far this term and will hope to return to the front line from the outset after being reduced to a substitute appearance at the weekend, while Lukas Sadilek and Kaan Kairinen will continue to partner up in the engine room.
Philippe Clement will likely field a similar starting XI on Thursday to the one that he deployed in his first game as Rangers manager at the weekend, and they will remain without Tom Lawrence, Kieran Dowell and Rabbi Matondo due to injuries, although their ranks have been bolstered by the returns of Ryan Jack, Todd Cantwell and Danilo after setbacks of their own.
Cantwell made a positive impression off the bench against Hibernian and will hope to earn a start on the wing, while Abdallah Sima is bound to again play a key role in the front line, having netted a brace on Saturday to take his tally to nine goals in all competitions for the season including two in their first two Europa League group games.
He will support either Cyriel Dessers or Danilo up front, while the returning Ryan Jack will hope to displace either John Lundstram or Nicolas Raskin in the engine room.
Sparta Prague possible starting lineup:
Vindahl-Jensen; Vitik, Panak, Sorensen; Preciado, Sadilek, Kairinen, Rynes; Pesek, Kuchta, Birmancevic
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Yilmaz; Raskin, Jack; Cantwell, Lammers, Sima; Dessers
We say: Sparta Prague 2-1 Rangers
Rangers will certainly have renewed confidence under the new management of Philippe Clement and on the back of a dominant victory at the weekend, but they face a particularly tough challenge on Thursday in the Czech capital, and we fancy the Zelezna Sparta to make home advantage count and come out on top.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
