Internazionale v Sparta Praha background

Sparta Praha have clinched first place in Group K and are looking to round off the section with a second win against eliminated Internazionale Milano.

• Having won four of their five fixtures, Sparta have topped the group; Internazionale have three points and cannot overhaul Southampton and Hapoel Beer-Sheva for second place.

Previous meetings
• Sparta won 3-1 against ten-man Inter on matchday two in what was the sides' first European encounter.

• Inter's sole previous experience of Czech opposition came the best part of 30 years ago, Alessandro Altobelli scoring the only goal in the Prague first leg as they overcame Dukla Praha 1-0 on aggregate in a 1986/87 UEFA Cup third-round tie.

• Sparta's 25 previous tussles with Italian teams have ended W5 D10 L10 (W1 D3 L8 in Italy). That lone victory in Italy came in last season's round of 16, when they followed up a 1-1 home draw against Lazio with a 3-0 success in Rome.

Form guide
• Inter's 1-0 win against Southampton on matchday three is the only victory in their last seven UEFA games; they have lost the other six matches.

• Sparta are on a four-game winning streak in Group K, and have not conceded in their last three UEFA fixtures.

• UEFA Cup winners in 1991, 1994 and 1998, Inter successfully negotiated their first two UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns, but will miss the cut this time.

• Sparta have now got to the knockout phase in four of their eight UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League group stage campaigns, including four of their last five.

Links and trivia
• The journey from Prague to Milan is around 650km.

• Sparta's Ondřzej Mazuch and Inter's Stevan Jovetić were team-mates at Fiorentina from 2008–09.

• Inter have played more UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League matches than any other club – 180 – and also boast the most wins (88) and draws (43) in the competitions.

The coaches
• Stefano Pioli was appointed by Inter on 8 November following the dismissal of Frank de Boer. A centre-back, he helped Fiorentina reach the 1989/90 UEFA Cup final as a player and steered Parma through the 2006/07 UEFA Cup group stage as a coach, as well as taking Lazio all the way to last season's round of 16.

• Zdeněk Ščasný stepped aside as Sparta coach in the wake of a 2-0 home reverse to Slavia in the 25 September Prague derby. His former assistants David Holoubek, Stanislav Hejkal and Zdeněk Svoboda continue in temporary command.

Chapecoense commemoration
Teams taking part in all of the matchday six UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League fixtures will observe a minute's silence to pay respect to the victims of last week's air disaster involving the Chapecoense team and accompanying delegation.

The Brazilian club lost most of their players and coaching staff in the accident, which occurred in Colombia, where Chapecoense were due to play the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional.

"European football is united in expressing its deepest sympathy to Chapecoense, the Brazilian Football Confederation [CBF], CONMEBOL and the families of all the victims," said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin. "This tragedy has shaken the world of football, and we would like to send our support to all of those affected by it."