Sparta Prague vs Salzburg: Preview, predictions and lineup

Two teams that progressed via the play-offs meet on Matchday 1 of the 2024/25 Champions League as Sparta Prague take on Salzburg in the Czechian capital.

Both sides endured plenty of work over the summer to book their respective places in the all-new 36-team league phase, with Salzburg overcoming Dynamo Kyiv and Sparta toppling Malmo in the final round of qualifying to get their names in the hat.

Salzburg, who are now led by Jurgen Klopp’s former Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders, have endured a fairly slow start to their domestic campaign, and they currently sit seventh in a division they’ve utterly dominated over the past decade.

The Austrians, however, have a great chance to start their Champions League campaign in a productive fashion looking at their fixture list. Things get really tough down the stretch, so early points are required.

Their first game away at Sparta will be far from a walk in the park, though. Wednesday’s hosts have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the new campaign, and they’re ready to make a splash during their first Champions League appearance since the 2005/06 season.

Here’s 90min’s preview of Salzburg’s trip to Sparta Prague.

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Sparta Prague vs Salzburg H2H Record (All Games)

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Sparta Prague team news

Jakub Pesek and Roman Mokrovics are both doubtful for Sparta’s Champions League opener with knocks, while Imanol Garcia de Albeniz is a long-term absentee with a knee injury.

24-year-old Albion Rrahmani has emerged as Sparta’s main man in attack, with the striker ably supported by experienced Slovakian international Lukas Haraslin.

Sparta Prague predicted lineup vs Salzburg

Sparta Prague predicted lineup vs Salzburg (3-4-3): Vindahl-Jensen; Vitik, Panak, Sorensen; Wiesner, Kairinen, Laci, Rynes; Krasniqi, Rrahmani, Haraslin.

Salzburg team news

The visitors haven’t had the best of luck on the injury front at the start of the new season, and they could be without several players for Wednesday’s Champions League opener.

Highly-regarded forward Karim Konate set to miss out as he’s currently nursing a knee ligament strain. Maurits Kjærgaard is set to miss the remainder of the season after picking up an Achilles injury earlier this month, while Fernando and Takumu Kawamura are also poised for lengthy periods out.

Daouda Guindo is a doubt with a foot injury.

Salzburg predicted lineup vs Sparta Prague

Salzburg predicted lineup vs Sparta Prague (4-3-3): Blaswich; Dedic, Baidoo, Piatkowski, Mellberg; Diambou, Gourna-Douath, Gloukh; Dorgeles, Ratkov, Yeo.

Sparta Prague vs Salzburg score prediction

Lijnders seems like a great fit for this Salzburg side, and they could spring a surprise or two in this competition as the league phase progresses. However, the visitors head into Wednesday’s game with several notable injuries having suffered their first defeat of the young season before the international break.

Sparta thrive on home soil, and a vivacious fanbase will be particularly fervent for the club’s first Champions League outing in 18 years.

This should be a hardly-fought and competitive contest that could go either way, but we’ll back the hosts to win by a slender margin.