Champions League Quali, Playoffs, second leg, Tuesday, 27.08.2024 at 21:00
Slavia Prague seem unlikely to qualify for our Champions League tips, but city rivals Sparta are very close to making it to the group stage soon!
The team goes into the second leg with a 2:0 advantage, but is still favored for a second time. Rightly so? I think so! In my Sparta Prague Malmö betting tip, I’ll now go into why I would opt for the “Double chance 1X”, paired with an Over 1.5 goals!
For 18 years, the fans of Sparta Prague have been waiting to finally be able to play in the concert of the greats again, and in 2024/25 it could actually happen again. But before they start dreaming of Real Madrid, Manchester City and co. there is one more hurdle to overcome
Sparta won the first leg against Malmö 2:0, an own goal and a late strike from Matej Rynes ensured that the team now has at least half a foot in the group stage.
I’m not surprised that they won, given their results in all competitions so far. But I didn’t necessarily expect them to go one-nil up.
Six games in the domestic league, five in Champions League qualifying, you definitely can’t say that Sparta haven’t really got into their rhythm yet, quite the opposite
In qualifying, they first knocked out Shamrock Rovers (2-0 and 4-2), then Sparta progressed with a 1-1 and 3-2 draw against Steau Bucharest. I’ll also take a quick look at the results from home.
Five wins (only one of which was a clean sheet), a 2:2 draw and a total of 14:6 goals – it was never boring in Czech stadiums or in Europe! Prague have only scored less than 1.5 goals once, which is of course very strong
So why not place the “Over 1.5 goals” bet for Tuesday? It’s possible at Sunmaker, the odds are 1.76. Sparta don’t actually have to win, even a narrow defeat would be enough to progress.
With odds of 1.85 to 3.75, the pure win odds see the Czechs ahead anyway, but if it’s about advancing, perhaps even after 120 minutes, there is a much clearer 1.05 to 10.5.
Whenever Sparta won a first leg with a two-goal lead during Champions League qualifying, they were never eliminated afterwards. Ten years ago, in round 3 of the qualifiers, they had already faced Malmö.
Back then, Sparta were eliminated in the bitterest way possible, on away goals, as a 4-2 home win was followed by a 0-2 away defeat. Can the Swedes reverse that trend?
They probably don’t think they have much chance of turning things around. Although: The team made it into the playoffs despite only winning ONE game in regulation in the first two rounds!
4:1 and 2:3 against Klaksvik, 2:2 and 4:3 after extra time against PAOK Saloniki, it was wildly back and forth and in the end the luck was simply on the side of the Sky Blues
The 0:2 against Sparta was clear, Malmö had always scored at least two goals before. Admittedly, the club has managed to progress after losing in play-off first legs before.
In 2016, they initially lost 3:2 against Celtic Glasgow, but a 2:0 in the second leg gave the team cause for celebration. The feat also worked in 2015, when a 2-1 defeat to RB Salzburg was countered by a 3-0 win
Sparta Prague are well on their way to the Champions League! After their 2-0 win over Malmö in the first leg, the Czechs are unlikely to lose their ticket, especially with a home game still to come.
To be honest, the Swedes haven’t been able to convince me yet anyway, they only got into these playoffs by luck. Sparta’s results, on the other hand, are much, much stronger.
The team is completely unbeaten and is also performing really well in the domestic league. Above all, they have a lot to offer offensively. But since it is no longer absolutely necessary to win, I have opted for the following betting combination:
Sparta will not lose by more than 1.5 goals!
