Sturm Graz vs Atalanta Prediction & Tips
The two Group C teams that lost on matchday two of the 2023/24 UEFA Europa League (UEL) group stage, Sparta Prague and Rangers, meet at a crucial stage when all four clubs in the group have three points apiece. Sparta’s 2-1 loss to Real Betis remains their only official defeat since the end of August (G9, E1), so they will be hoping to get back to winning ways quickly as they target European spring soccer for the first time since 2021/22.
Sparta, who top the Czech Premier League by two points ahead of arch-rivals Slavia Prague, should be in with a chance after defeating SK Dynamo České Budějovice 4-0 by winning both halves over the weekend, as well as emerging victorious from their last three UEL home games. They also haven’t lost to Scottish opponents at home in UEFA competitions (G4, E1), a streak that includes a pair of 1-0 wins in clashes between the two in 1991 and 2021.
That should give new Rangers manager Philippe Clement plenty to think about after he made a good first impression with a 4-0 league win over Hibernian on Saturday. Clement made his intentions clear in this competition by declaring that he “wants to win everything,” but quickly tempered expectations by adding that he is “not a magician.” The former Belgian international returns to work in Europe with more than 50 European competition matches under his belt as a coach and inherits a team that has alternated between wins and defeats in its last seven UEL matches (G3, P4).
Their shock 2-1 loss to Aris Limassol on matchday two was the Scottish side’s fifth consecutive UEL defeat on foreign soil, which does not prepare them well for a visit to the Czech Republic, where they have never won a European away game (E1, P4). They scored just one goal in those five matches against four different Prague clubs – Sparta, Slavia, Dukla Prague and Viktoria Žižkov.
Players to watch: Jan Kuchta scored the final goal of the scoring in two of Sparta’s last four matches, while former Slavia player Abdallah Sima scored both of Rangers’ goals in this UEL season, each between the 65th and 70th minutes.
Key stat: Sparta scored at least twice before halftime in each of its last six home games (MT: W6).
Sturm Graz – Atalanta FREE TIPS
UNDER 2.5 GOALS @ 2.25
