Aberdeen round of their Conference League campaign on Thursday night as they travel to the Czech capital to take on Sparta Prague.
Aberdeen’s saw their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the Conference League officially ended last Thursday, as they fell to a 0-1 defeat at home to Strasbourg.
Jimmy Thelin’s men have failed to win any of their five league phase matches (W0-D2-L3), losing to Strasbourg (1st), Shakhtar Donetsk (2nd) and AEK Athens (4th).
However, the Dons’ domestic form has improved massively in the last couple of months, as they have won seven and lost just one of their previous 10 Scottish Premiership matches (W7-D2-L1) to move up to sixth in the table, with the latest of those wins coming in a 2-1 success at home to Kilmarnock on Sunday.
In contrast to their visitors, Sparta Prague have had an impressive league phase campaign so far, with their 1-2 in Romania against CS Universitatea Craiova last time out moving them up to sixth position in the league phase table on 10 points (W3-D1-L1).
That means their destiny is in their own hands, with a win over the Dons on Thursday night ensuring a top-eight finish for Brian Priske’s men.
However, Sparta head into this clash off the back of a 2-2 draw at home to Slovan Liberec in the Czech First League at the weekend, seeing them fall seven points behind city rivals Slavia Prague.
How the bookies view it: Sparta clear favourites
Unsurprisingly, Sparta head into this clash as clear favourites to claim all three points, with bet365 pricing a home success at just 2/9.
Bet365 have the Dons as massive 9/1 underdogs to claim their first victory in the league phase this term, whilst the draw is 19/4.
Head to head: First-ever meeting
Thursday night will be the first-ever meeting between these two clubs.
Players to watch: Rrahmani to roar again?
Albion Rrahmani has been in decent form for Sparta Prague this campaign, as he has fired in 12 goals in 31 appearances.
Four of those strikes have come in Europe – including the opener against CS Universitatea Craiova last Thursday – and is an appealing 10/11 at bet365 to find the target this Thursday against the Dons.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Predicted line-ups:
Sparta Prague will be missing the injured Emmanuel Uchenna, Adam Sevinsky, Elias Cobbaut, Magnus Kofod Andersen and Dominik Holly, whilst Santiago Eneme is away to AFCON.
Aberdeen are set to be without the injured duo of Kristers Tobers and Gavin Molloy once again.
Sparta Prague: Vindahl, Vydra, Sorensen, Zeleny, Preciado, Mannsverk, Kairinen, Rynes, Mercado, Haraslin, Rrahmani
Aberdeen: Mitov, Devlin, Milne, Knoester, Lobban, Polvara, Aouchiche, Jensen, Karlsson, Keskinen, Nisbet
Anything else catch the eye?
As alluded to, Sparta need a win to ensure a top eight finish in the Conference League table, and I fully expect them to against a Dons side that has struggled badly in Europe this term.
Brian Priske’s men have won four of their five continental clashes at home this season (W4-D1-L0), conceding just twice, and a Sparta Win to Nil pays an appealing 10/11 at William Hill.
What’s more, the Dons have failed to score in three of their previous four Conference League outings, as well as all three away from home.
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