Sparta Prague vs AFC Bournemouth Predictions

• Bournemouth have kept six straight clean sheets
• Five of Sparta Prague’s last six matches have featured fewer than three goals
• The Cherries have won all three of their matches in the league phase of the Europa League

Cherries blossoming under Rose

A 2-0 home success against Leeds on Saturday meant it is now six wins on the bounce for Bournemouth and they have seen off some big names in that run as new manager Marco Rose has got his feet firmly under the Vitality table.

Milan, Manchester United and Aston Villa are among their victims in this impressive run which has seen the Cherries keep a clean sheet in each game, and they can maintain their strong statistics when they take on Sparta Prague on Thursday.

It is not as if Bournemouth have sneaked wins either as four of those successes were by a 3-0 margin, including all three of those wins against illustrious opponents, and while they have a potentially tricky league encounter with Ipswich on Sunday, another fourth victory of their Europa League season looks within their capabilities.

Sparta face step up in grade

Sparta are going some way towards recovering from an indifferent start to the Czech First League season after they lost four of their opening seven matches, which is not expected from a club of their stature.

They have been unbeaten in six league outings since but they have failed to score in three of their last four games, including a 1-0 loss in their last Europa League encounter at Olympiakos.

Sparta have beaten Ararat-Armenia 4-1 in this competition and were denied by a late equaliser in a 1-1 home draw to Norwegian side Lillestrom, but this looks a step up in class.

The value appears to lie in backing the Cherries to record another victory with a clean sheet, while a 2-0 away triumph appeals from a correct-score perspective.