Sparta Praha vs Inter Milan facts

Sparta Praha welcome Inter Milan to Czechia with time running out to get their UEFA Champions League campaign back on course.

The Czech champions took four points from their first two league phase fixtures, beating Salzburg 3-0 at home on Matchday 1, but have lost all four games since, going down 2-4 at Feyenoord in their last outing.

Inter were also beaten on Matchday 6, a 90th-minute goal giving Bayer Leverkusen a 1-0 home win to inflict the Nerazzurri's first defeat of the league phase. Simone Inzaghi's side nevertheless have 13 points having won four of their first six matches.

Previous meetings

2016/17 UEFA Europa League group stage
Sparta 3-1 Inter
Inter 2-1 Sparta
Václav Kadlec's early double put Sparta in control in Prague on Matchday 2 and, after Rodrigo Palacio pulled one back for an Inter side coach by Frank de Boer, Mario Holek sealed the points for David Holoubek's Sparta, 60 seconds after Inter had lost Andrea Ranocchia to a red card.

Inter were led by Stefano Pioli for their second fixture against Sparta on Matchday 6, Éder scoring a 90th-minute winner. It was the forward's second of the game, his first-half opener cancelled out by Lukáš Mareček with Bořek Dočkal missing a penalty before Éder's decisive strike.

The Italian club nevertheless finished bottom of the section on six points (W2 L4) with Sparta top on 12 (W4 L2).

Form guide

Sparta Praha 

Record vs Italian clubs: W5 D10 L13 F23 A39
Home record vs Italian clubs: W4 D7 L3

Sparta have lost their last three games against Italian clubs, most recently going down 0-3 away and 0-1 home against AC Milan in the 2020/21 Europa League group stage.

That defeat in Prague ended Sparta's six-match unbeaten run at home to Italian visitors and was only their third home loss – all by the same 0-1 scoreline.

Sparta's 2016 win against Inter is one of only two in their last nine fixtures against Serie A sides (D3 L4).

Sparta featured in the Champions League group stage seven times, one more than all the other Czech clubs combined, although their last appearance came in 2005/06, the seventh time in nine seasons they had made it that far.

The Prague club subsequently lost nine times in qualifying – including in 2023/24, when they were eliminated on penalties by Copenhagen in the third qualifying round (0-0 a, 3-3 h aet, 2-4 pens).

Sparta therefore moved into the Europa League and ultimately reached the round of 16, where Liverpool proved too strong (1-5 h, 1-6 a).

Rudí started this season in the Champions League second qualifying round, defeating Shamrock Rovers (2-0 a, 4-2 h) and then getting the better of FCSB (1-1 h, 3-2 a). Sparta sealed their return to the competition proper after 19 seasons by beating Malmö 2-0 both away and at home in the play-offs.

Before Matchday 4 this season Sparta had suffered a single defeat in 12 home European matches (W7 D4) but they have lost the last two, 1-2 against Brest and, on Matchday 5, 0-6 against Atlético de Madrid – their heaviest Champions League defeat.

Lars Friis succeeded the Feyenoord-bound Brian Priske as Sparta coach in June.

Priske had taken Sparta to their second successive league title, and 38th overall, in 2023/24 – the first time they had won successive championships since 2001. Sparta also claimed the Czech Cup for a 16th time, completing a sixth domestic double.

Inter

Record vs Czech clubs: W5 D2 L1 F14 A6
Away record vs Czech clubs: W3 D0 L1

Inter have won their last three games against Czech clubs, most recently beating Viktoria Plzeň 2-0 away and 4-0 at home in the 2022/23 group stage.

The Nerazzurri are unbeaten in five games against teams from Czechia (W4 D1), since that 2016 loss at Sparta.

Inter have won their other three away games against Czech clubs, scoring six goals and conceding only one.

This is the Nerazzurri's 18th appearance in the Champions League, and a seventh in succession.

Runners-up to Manchester City in the 2023 final, losing 1-0 in Istanbul – Inter's most successful Champions League campaign since lifting the trophy in 2010 – Simone Inzaghi's side were second behind Real Sociedad in Group D in 2023/24 but were then edged out by Atlético de Madrid in the round of 16 (1-0 h, 1-2 a, 2-3 pens).

That was the second time in the last three seasons than Inter's campaign had foundered in the last 16.

A 1-0 victory at Young Boys on Matchday 3 this season is one of only nine in Inter's last 25 away Champions League games (D7 L9), although they have won seven of the last 16.

Champions of Europe in 1964, 1965 and 2010, Inter claimed their 20th Serie A title in 2023/24. It was their first championship since 2021 and only a second in the past 14 seasons.

Links and trivia

Lukáš Haraslín played in Italy for Parma (2013–15) and Sassuolo (2020–22).

Elias Cobbaut played for Parma between 2021 and 2023.

International team-mates:
Indrit Tuci, Qazim Laçi & Kristjan Asllani (Albania)

Latest news

Sparta Praha

This is Sparta's first competitive match since a 2-1 home win against Jablonec on 15 December.

That made it three successive league wins and six matches unbeaten in the Czech top flight (W3 D3).

The 4-2 defeat at Feyenoord on Matchday 6 is Sparta's only loss in their last five games (W3 D1).

Having made a 15-game unbeaten start to 2024/25, Sparta Praha have lost eight of their last 17 in all competitions, winning five.

Sparta's four league defeats this season is two more than in the whole of 2023/24 and one more than 2022/23.

The Czech champions have been at a training camp in Spain, winning friendlies against Malmö on 10 January (3-1) and Bodø/Glimt five days later (3-0) with Victor Olatunji scoring in both games.

Elias Cobbaut has not played since going off injured on Matchday 6.

Lukáš Haraslín was sidelined by a hamstring problem between 23 October and 23 November and has now been out since going off in the first half on Matchday 5 with a similar injury.

Angelo Preciado (meniscus) has been out since Matchday 3.

Sparta have signed defender Emmanuel Uchenna from Baník Ostrava, Venezia midfielder Magnus Kofod Andersen and Jan Kuchta on loan from Midtjylland, the latter having left the club for Denmark in the summer, this month.

Inter

The Nerazzurri won their first five games after Matchday 6, scoring 15 goals without conceding, but had one victory in their subsequent three (D1 L1) before Sunday's 3-1 win at home to Empoli.

Lautaro Martínez opened the scoring to make it four goals in his last six games, Denzel Dumfries finding the net for the second match in succession to make it four in five matches.

Martínez now has 111 goals for Inter, level with Mauro Icardi as the second-highest foreign scorer in Serie A in the club's history; only Stefano Nyers has more (133).

Inter are unbeaten in 15 Serie A games (W12 D3), since a 1-2 derby loss at home to AC Milan on 22 September, a 2-2 draw at home to Bologna on 15 January ending a run of six successive victories.

The Nerazzurri have already conceded 13 home Serie A goals this term, two more than in the whole of last season.

The 1-0 triumph at Venezia on 12 January was Inter's sixth consecutive away Serie A victory without conceding, a club record; they have won their last seven away league matches.

Inter scored 50 goals in Serie A away games in 2024, another new best for the club.

On 19 December Inter reached the Coppa Italia quarter finals with a 2-0 defeat of Udinese, Marko Arnautović and Kristjan Asllani on target to make it 18 different goalscorers in all competitions for Inter this season.

Simone Inzaghi's side started 2025 with a 2-0 win against Atalanta in the Italian Super Cup semi-finals on 2 January but let slip a two-goal lead to lose 2-3 to Milan in the final four days later.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan came on on Sunday having been out since going off with a thigh injury against Atalanta.

Yann Bisseck has missed the last three games with a thigh problem.

Hakan Çalhanoğlu was replaced with a calf injury in the first half against Atalanta and has not played since.