Liverpool have one foot in the quarter-finals of the Europa League as they host Czech champions Sparta Prague in the second leg of their Round of 16 tie on Thursday (March 14).
The Reds enjoyed a stunning 5-1 victory in the Czech Republic last week in the first leg in what was an impressive performance by Jürgen Klopp’s side to effectively end the tie barring a historic second-leg performance from Prague.
Liverpool have been in top form as of late and while they relinquished their spot at the top of the Premier League to Arsenal last week, the Merseyside club will be full of confidence following a top-notch performance in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City this past weekend.
Despite earning just a point from the clash at Anfield, Liverpool put on a second-half mauling of the reigning champions and should have claimed all three points but were undone by Luis Díaz’s poor finishing.
Regardless of the draw, Liverpool have been in fine form and with the slow return of their injured stars, the Reds look set to end the season with their best players available for the first time all season long.
Klopp revealed that Mohamed Salah will be ready to start his first game for Liverpool since January in a rotated line-up with the FA Cup quarter-final clash against Manchester United on Sunday (March 17) on the horizon.
While Sparta Prague remain top of their domestic league, the battering they were handed by Liverpool seemed to have lasting effects as just three days after the game, they were crushed 4-0 by Viktoria Plzen in what was their biggest defeat of the season.
They’ll have nothing to lose when they arrive at Anfield and will surely be on the front foot but allowing Liverpool the opportunity to counter-attack at home is a dangerous possibility and one Prague must work very hard to stop.
LFC Globe Verdict
Liverpool’s starting line-up will have an interesting mix of youth and experience with the likes of Lewis Koumas, Bobby Clark and James McConnell expected to start alongside Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Despite Sparta Prague’s form in their domestic league, they’ll stand no chance of claiming a result at Anfield as Liverpool will run out comfortable winners in a 3-0 rout to book their place in the Europa League quarter-finals.
