Liverpool vs Sparta Prague prediction, odds and betting tips

Liverpool will book their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League by eliminating Sparta Prague on Thursday.

Find the latest match odds for Liverpool vs Sparta Prague. All odds are provided by our best-reviewed football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.

• Sparta Prague - 7/1 with Sky Bet
• Draw - 5/1 with Sky Bet

• Liverpool win with a -2 handicap - 15/8 with Sky Bet
• Liverpool to score in both halves - 4/5 with Sky Bet
• Mohamed Salah to score any time - 8/11 with Sky Bet

The Premier League title race is never decided in March, but it is particularly difficult to predict this season’s champion right now.

Barring one of Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester City suffering a dramatic (and improbable) downturn in form over the next few weeks, we can now call this the first three-way title tussle in England’s top tier since 2013/14.

Neither Liverpool nor Manchester City was able to land a decisive blow on one of their fellow contenders this weekend. Those two teams drew 1-1 at Anfield, which allowed Arsenal to end the weekend looking down from the summit of the standings. 

City took a first-half lead through John Stones after a well-worked corner. It took Liverpool a while to get going in front of their own fans, as it often has this season.

For long periods of the second period, however, it was one-way traffic in Liverpool’s favour. The Reds levelled things up with an Alexis Mac Allister penalty and then had further chances to get ahead, with Luis Diaz particularly profligate.

City eventually found some control, though, and they had opportunities of their own. In the end, neither Jurgen Klopp nor Pep Guardiola could be too unhappy with the result after another epic between their sides. 

With Klopp set to step down in the summer, this was the last time we will see those iconic coaches butt heads in a Premier League encounter. Before he departs, the German will be desperate to add more silverware to the Anfield trophy cabinet.

But with the Premier League title still in play, it remains to be seen how seriously Liverpool will take the Europa League from the quarter-finals onwards.

They are not through to the last eight just yet, but the Reds are in a commanding position after demolishing Sparta Prague 5-1 in the first leg last week.

Liverpool destroyed Sparta Prague last week and they should have little trouble against the same opponents at Anfield.

Some, including this writer, expected Sparta Prague to give an under-strength Liverpool a game in the first meeting in Prague.

As it was, Klopp’s team proved far too strong for the Czech outfit, as goals from Mac Allister, Darwin Nunez (two), Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai gave Liverpool a thumping win.

That puts them in a fantastic position ahead of the second leg. Klopp may opt to rest one or two ahead of the FA Cup clash with Manchester United this weekend, injuries permitting.

Indeed, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alisson Becker, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch, Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara are all still on the treatment table.

Sparta need a miracle to advance to the quarter-finals and even their manager Brian Priske will not expect anything other than elimination on Thursday.

His team will still be keen to make a positive impression at Anfield, one of the most iconic stadiums in Europe. But Liverpool should prove too strong for Sparta once more - we fancy a healthy home victory here.

Liverpool’s attacking depth is perhaps better than it has ever been. 

Even though Jota is out, Klopp still has Mohamed Salah, Nunez, Diaz and Cody Gakpo to call upon. Harvey Elliott, usually used as a midfielder these days, can also slot into the front three when required.

There are goals elsewhere in the team too, whether that is from midfield runners, surging full-backs or centre-backs up for set-pieces.

That is especially true at Anfield, where Liverpool are unbeaten in any competition for close to 18 months. They have scored 59 goals in 20 home matches this term - close to three per game.

Sparta Prague struggled to cope with Liverpool’s attack last time out and we could see something similar here. The Reds have it in them to score either side of half-time.

Salah made his return from injury in the first leg with an eye-catching cameo performance. He again appeared as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City.

Salah was a threat during his time on the pitch, but he is not quite at 100 percent yet. 

This is the type of match in which Salah would ordinarily be rested, but he could do with some more minutes under his belt ahead of the trip to Manchester United on Sunday.

Klopp will probably give them to him, either as a starter until around the hour mark or as a second-half substitute.

Salah is a world-class attacker, the type of which Sparta Prague are not used to facing. He could cause them some major problems, especially if the visitors’ heads drop with any increase of the aggregate deficit.

• Location: Anfield, Liverpool, England.
• Date and time: Thursday 14 March 2024, 8pm.
• How to watch: TNT Sports 1.

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