Sparta Praha vs Shamrock Rovers Prediction: Tough trip in prospect for Rovers

Shamrock Rovers face an uphill task as they travel to the Czech Republic to face Sparta Praha in the second leg of their Champions League second qualifying round tie on Tuesday (18:00).

Read on for my Sparta Praha vs Shamrock Rovers prediction and all the latest match odds heading into this game.

The League of Ireland champions were beaten 2-0 at home at Tallaght Stadium in the first leg and could never really land a glove on the classy Czech outfit.

Rovers had a fitness edge in the first leg due to being further into their domestic season than Sparta, but the Czechs made light of that and should be hard to beat at home.

Football Odds

Team News

Sparta Praha manager Lars Friis is almost in a position where he could choose not to risk some of his star players but the importance of the competition means he is likely to at least start with a strong line-up.

He made two half-time changes in the first leg - including withdrawing goalscorer Veljko Birmancevic - and could opt for a similar policy.

Markus Poom, Aaron McEneff and Graham Burke could all be fit for Rovers after injuries but Rory Gaffney is still sidelined.

Sparta Praha vs Shamrock Rovers Odds

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Sparta are hot favourites at home and are priced at 1/6 to win the game, with Shamrock Rovers available at 10/1 and the draw on offer at 11/2.

Over 3.5 goals in the match is priced at 1/1 with under 3.5 at 8/11 and it's also 1/1 that both teams score in the game with 8/11 on offer for at least one side to fail to find the net.

Sparta Praha To Win To Nil @ 9/10

Sparta Praha won without conceding a goal on their trip to Ireland and should be able to repeat the feat at the Letna Stadium in Prague on Tuesday.

With a comfortable 2-0 lead, there is no need for the Czech side to take any risks but they are a classy outfit and should be able to extend their advantage to put the tie to bed in emphatic fashion.

Defeat would not mean the end of Shamrock Rovers' European adventure, as they would face the losers of the tie between NK Celje and Slovan Bratislava in the Europa League if they are eliminated from this competition.

There's no shame in Rovers finding the Czech champions just too classy for them and they have been struggling in their domestic league too, lying in fifth place, 13 points behind leaders Shelbourne.

Rovers have won only four of their 12 away league games this season and that is worrying for them against a Sparta side who went unbeaten at home in their league last season with 14 wins and four draws in 18 games.

Sparta are already on top of the table in their new season after wins over Pardubice and Teplice, scoring six goals and conceding only two.

Their defence was breached in each of those games but they should be capable of recording a second clean sheet against Rovers.

Correct Score - Sparta Praha 3-0 @ 6/1

Those looking for a bigger payout could consider a correct-score wager on Sparta Praha to win 3-0.

Rovers have lost six of their last 11 games in all competitions but are not prone to collapsing defensively and they have not conceded more than twice since a 3-1 defeat by Waterford in May.

Even so, a trip to Prague is their toughest assignment of the season by some distance and a 3-0 win should be well within the home team's reach.

There have been over 2.5 goals in 13 of Sparta's last 16 matches and that should be the case again even if they have to do all the scoring themselves.

Rovers have failed to score in four of their last six outings although they had a couple of chances in the home game through Josh Honohan.

Offers

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