Villarreal vs Sparta Prague Betting Tips & Predictions

Sparta Prague have been one of the surprise packages in the tournament and are enjoying their best season in Europe for a considerable amount of time. The Czechs are unbeaten in 12 matches in the Europa League this term so clearly should not be underestimated. Their knock-out round wins have been particularly impressive as they saw off Russian side Krasnodar 4-0 on aggregate in the 1st knock-out round prior to a 4-1 win against Lazio in which they won the 2nd leg 3-0 in Rome thanks to three 1st Half goals. They were though beaten by Slovacko in the Czech Liga at the weekend but they won’t travel to Spain in fear given what they have achieved so far in Europe.

This though is most likely going to be another step up in class. Villarreal are 4th in La Liga and look almost certain to be in the Champions League next term. They won 2-1 at Eibar on Sunday and are unbeaten in the Europa League since losing their opening group game in Vienna. They have had two very tough draws prior to this round but got the better of their knock-out matches against Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen by winning the home leg and drawing away.

They have won all of their 5 Europa League home matches to nil this season and have the 2nd best defensive record in La Liga so Sparta are going to have to work hard to get any joy in front of goal here. Villarreal are very strong at El Madrigal and have won 17 of their 23 home games this term in all competitions and despite Sparta’s impressive run in Europe they may well come unstuck here and backing Villarreal to win 2-0 at 11/2 looks a decent bet.