This will be the first-ever meeting between the two clubs in European competition. Both teams have collected four points from their opening two matches, with City sitting in 8th place in the UCL standings and Sparta Prague just two spots behind in 10th.
Manchester City remain unbeaten across all competitions this season, extending their streak to 12 matches with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday. Dominating possession with 80%, 22 shots, and 18 corners, City had to come from behind after Josko Gvardiol's brilliant 20-yard strike leveled the score, before John Stones sealed the win with a dramatic 95th-minute header.
That victory set a new club record of 31 matches unbeaten in the Premier League (25 wins and 6 draws), and now City have the chance to make Champions League history. If they avoid defeat against Sparta Prague, they’ll set the record for the longest unbeaten run in European Cup/Champions League history.
Currently, they’re on a 25-match unbeaten streak in the competition, scoring 64 goals and conceding just 18, and they recently cruised to a 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava three weeks ago.
City, the reigning UCL champions, will also surpass Real Madrid's 32-game unbeaten home run, set in 1990, if they avoid defeat. They’ve only faced one other Czech team before, Viktoria Plzen, whom they beat 3-0 away and 4-2 at home during the 2013-14 Champions League group stage.
Sparta Prague, competing in the Champions League for the first time in nearly 20 years, have impressed with their strong start in this expanded competition. After advancing through the qualifiers by defeating Shamrock Rovers, FCSB, and Malmo, they secured a commanding 3-0 victory over Red Bull Salzburg in their first group game, followed by a 1-1 draw away to Stuttgart three weeks ago.
Despite back-to-back defeats in their domestic league, Sparta got back on track with a 2-1 win over Slovan Liberec on Saturday, thanks to goals from Tomas Wiesner and substitute Lukas Haraslin, who scored the decisive goal in the 79th minute.
Lars Friis’s team, who claimed a record-extending 35th Czech league title last season, are currently second in their domestic league, trailing leaders Slavia Prague by three points. Before a crucial matchup with Viktoria Plzen on Sunday, Sparta will first face the daunting task of taking on Manchester City, marking the ninth English side they've encountered in European competition.
Sparta has struggled against English clubs, winning just four of their 22 previous encounters, and were knocked out by Liverpool in last season’s Europa League round of 16 with a crushing 11-2 aggregate defeat.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Man City are still dealing with the long-term absences of Rodri (ACL) and Oscar Bobb (leg fracture). Guardiola has confirmed that both Kyle Walker (knee) and Kevin De Bruyne (groin) are still sidelined and won't return until they are fully fit.Nathan Ake, who has missed seven games due to a muscle injury, was on the bench against Wolves but didn’t get any playing time. He might feature against Sparta Prague, though it’s unclear if he’s ready to start. If not, Josko Gvardiol could continue at left-back.
Guardiola might rotate the squad in other areas, as he did in the match against Slovan Bratislava. Stefan Ortega, Manuel Akanji, Matheus Nunes, James McAtee, Jack Grealish, and Phil Foden are all pushing for spots in the starting lineup.
For Sparta Prague, Imanol Garcia (knee) is out and ineligible, while Elias Cobbaut (illness) has yet to make an appearance this season and is unlikely to be available. Martin Vitik, who missed last weekend’s league match due to suspension, is available again and could replace Asger Sorensen in central defense, forming a back three with Filip Panak and Jaroslav Zeleny.
In attack, Haraslin, Veljko Birmancevic, and Victor Olatunji, who have each scored six goals this season, are all pushing for starting roles. However, Albion Rrahmani may get the nod to lead the line as the central striker.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Manchester City possible starting lineup:Ederson; Lewis, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Gundogan, Nunes; Bernardo, Foden, Grealish; Haaland
Sparta Prague possible starting lineup:
Vindahl; Vitik, Panak, Zeleny; Preciado, Kairinen, Laci, Wiesner; Birmancevic, Rrahmani, Haraslin
EXPERT PREDICTION
Manchester City 3-1 Sparta Prague
Sparta Prague have found the back of the net in all 19 of their matches across competitions this season, and they'll back themselves to score against a Manchester City defense that has been vulnerable to counter-attacks in recent weeks.
That said, City are incredibly strong at home and should have enough firepower to outscore Sparta and secure all three points.
