Sparta Praha vs Lillestrom

Sparta Praha host Lillestrom in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday 15 October 2026 at epet ARENA in Praha, with the hosts positioned third in the table following a 4-1 opening win.

Sparta Praha manage six player absences

Sparta Praha enter Matchweek 2 dealing with several fitness issues across the squad. Emmanuel Uchenna, Jakub Martinec, Magnus Kofod Andersen, and Ondřej Penxa are all ruled out through injury. Josimar Alcócer and Matěj Ryneš remain doubtful with knocks of their own. Despite missing personnel, Sparta opened their league stage schedule with a 4-1 victory away at Ararat-Armenia on 16 September 2026. That result put Sparta on three points with a plus-three goal difference. In attack, John Mercado leads the scoring chart with two goals across all competitions this season, while defender Tobias Guddal scored twice against Ararat-Armenia. In continental action this season, Sparta also recorded a 2-1 home win against Lyon on 4 August 2026 before suffering a 3-0 defeat in the return fixture on 11 August 2026. Across their last three matches with chance data, Sparta created 1.46 expected goals per match while conceding 2.18.

Lillestrom travel after opening home defeat

Lillestrom sit 23rd of 36 clubs in the Europa League table after losing 2-1 at home to Torreense on 17 September 2026. Prior to the league phase, the Norwegian side earned qualification by drawing 0-0 away at Egnatia Rrogozhinë on 20 August 2026 and winning the reverse fixture 2-1 at home on 27 August 2026. Lillestrom make the trip to Praha without three injured players, as Camil Jebara, Espen Garnås, and Linus Alperud are ruled out of selection.

Our model firmly expects a Sparta Praha win

Our model firmly expects a Sparta Praha win. Sparta carry the advantage of their 4-1 away victory on Matchweek 1, whereas Lillestrom took zero points from their opening fixture against Torreense. While Sparta have allowed 2.18 expected goals per match in recent European outings and carry six potential absences, Lillestrom's own injury list and opening home loss point toward the Czech side taking control at epet ARENA.