Banik Ostrava VS AC Sparta Prague

The hosts have struggled badly across the current Czech First League campaign, sitting deep in the division's lower half with a string of consecutive recent defeats. Flaws are obvious across both their attacking and defensive lines, with an especially shaky backline that concedes far too many goals. Even home advantage has failed to lift their flagging morale amid this rough stretch. Sparta Prague, their visitors here, are one of the Czech top flight's traditional powerhouse sides, with far stronger squad depth, a well-developed mature attacking system and reliably consistent goalscoring output from their forward line. They have long held a clear upper hand in the two sides' historical head-to-head records, and have beaten their opponents on numerous past meetings.