Sparta Prague vs Rangers Predictions

• Sparta have won five of their seven home games this season, with just one defeat.
• Rangers are yet to win on their travels in Europe.
• Sparta won 5-2 at Zlin on Saturday.

Sparta can out pressure on Gers

Rangers opened up their Europa League campaign with a 2-0 defeat at home to Lyon and now face a tricky trip to Sparta Prague as they seek their first points.

Sparta played out a goalless draw at Brondby in their Europa League opener, and with Lyon seemingly looking well placed to go on and take one of the top two places in Group A this looks like a game where both the hosts and Rangers will feel they need a result.

The Ibrox outfit have managed back-to-back wins to nil going into Thursday’s trip to Prague but they are yet to win on the road in Europe this season. Rangers lost 2-1 at Malmo in Champions League qualifying and were held to a 0-0 draw at Alashkert in Europa League qualifying, despite playing the majority of the game in Armenia against 10-men.

Sparta’s home form has been fairly strong this season with five wins in seven games, losing once to Monaco in Champions League qualifying. The Czech outfit also appear to have hit some form and they go into Thursday’s game after two wins in a row, including a 5-2 win at Zlin at the weekend.

This could be a close game but home advantage may prove the difference and Sparta look a big price here all things considered. A home win is my main bet for this match-up, while a 2-1 win for Sparta has some appeal in the correct score market as Rangers have managed to score in four of their six away games so far across all competitions.