Copenhagen will host Sparta Prague in the third qualifying round of the Champions League. The Danish heavyweights defeated Breidablik 8-3 overall to easily advance to the second round. Their Czech opponents are now starting their most recent European campaign.
Preview (Copenhagen vs Sparta Prague)
Copenhagen traveled to Iceland for a second-qualifying round match with Breidablik, who was not widely expected to pull off a miraculous comeback when the two sides resumed hostilities in the Danish capital a week later. Two first-half goals did the damage. Breidablik’s three goals allowed the Icelandic minnows to return to the north with pride. Oskar Hrafn Thorvaldsson’s 6-3 thrashing by Jacob Neestrup’s Danish champions made for a humiliating experience for them. Orri Oskarsson, an Icelandic superstar who plays for Copenhagen, was the star of the show. The 18-year-old scored his first goal of the night in first-half injury time and finished his hat-trick by the 56th.
Copenhagen’s recent successes on the international stage have transferred into their customary victories in the Danish Superliga as well. Neestrup’s team has won three straight games to begin their title defense. Most notably crushing Randers 4-0 on Saturday to preserve their three-point lead over Nordsjaelland. Sparta Prague, however, arrived in Scandinavia with a winning mentality. Due to their status as the reigning Czech champions, Sparta Prague was exempt from the first two rounds of the Champions League qualification process. Sparta Prague also avoided the threat of longtime rivals Slavia Prague to win the Czech Republic’s premier division for the first time in nine seasons last season.
Similar to Copenhagen, the Maroons have started the defense of their title with a perfect record after three games. They started out by defeating Sigma Olomouc and Zlin before destroying Pardubice 5-2 on Saturday. Sparta Prague was a regular in the Champions League. They have only faced Copenhagen once before in the 2009–10 Europa League group stage. They have yet to play them in the group stage since the 2005–06 season.
Team News
Neestrup had the option of making multiple half-time substitutions against Breidablik in the second leg because his team led 4-1 at the break. Although midfielder William Clem played only 28 minutes of that game. However, the 19-year-old was able to play the entire 90 minutes in his team’s victory over Randers over the weekend. Giving Neestrup a little sense of relief while the seasoned Viktor Claesson recovers from an undisclosed problem. The Danish champions are in a fine position overall. The 17-year-old Roony Bardghji has placed his name in the running for a start after scoring in the rout of Randers. Georgian center-back Davit Khocholava is not anticipated to recover from a knee injury until early October, but other than that, the champions are in good shape.
In contrast, Sparta Prague appears to be injury-free going into the first leg on Tuesday. Priske made three adjustments at halftime in the victory against Pardubice in preparation for their matchup on Wednesday. Kuchta, who formerly wore the colors of Slavia Prague for nine years, joined Spartak Moscow permanently this summer after being on loan there last year. Kuchta will lead the line after Sparta traded Tomas Cvancara to Borussia Monchengladbach for about £9 million. Veljko Birmancevic, a loanee from Toulouse who scored his team’s fifth goal over the weekend, ought to continue playing in the final third, and Lukas Haraslin on the other wing should also be kept in the lineup.
Copenhagen’s brilliant attacking style should make up for any defensive lapses that may occur in the Danish capital this week. The team is still developing a taste for goals. Sparta Prague should show to be a tougher test than Breidablik despite their recent lack of top-level European experience, but we can only imagine Copenhagen heading to Czechia for the return leg with a significant advantage.
Copenhagen 3 – 1 Sparta Prague
For more football previews, click here
