The first leg in Turkey last week ended 2-0 in favour of the Lions thanks to one effort each from Kerem Demirbay, Dries Mertens and Mauro Icardi.
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Galatasaray will be looking to seal their place in the last-16 stage of the UEFA Europa League when they travel to epet Arena to take on Sparta Prague in the second leg of their knockout round playoff tie. The first leg in Turkey last week ended 2-0 in favour of the Lions thanks to one effort each from Kerem Demirbay, Dries Mertens and Mauro Icardi. Meanwhile, Angelo Preciado and Jan Kuchta netted two crucial away-goals for the Czech outfit at RAMS Park. Both sides ended the match with a man-less after Victory Nelsson(62′) and Matej Raynes(80′) were sent off in the second-half.
Sparta Prague gave a good account of themselves in Turkey last week, coming from behind twice to make the score 2-2, but Icardi’s 91st-minute effort gave a slight edge to Galatasaray in the tie. Nevertheless, on Sunday, Iron Sparta maintained their perfect run in the domestic front, defeating Liberec 2-1, thanks to two early goals in the second half through Lukas Haraslin and Victor Olatunji. It was their seventh successive Czech First League victory, taking their points tally to 56 from 21 games, four clear of second-placed Slavia Praha in the Czech top flight standings. Meanwhile, Brian Priske’s side have won 12 of their last 13 competitive fixtures at epet ARENA, including Europa League wins over Real Betis and Aris Limassol in the process.
Galatasaray, on the other hand, have been one of the best performing teams in Europe in the last couple of months, having won each of their last ten outings in all competitions. The Lions have scored 14 goals and kept three clean sheets in their last five outings. After the thrilling victory over Sparta Prague on February 15, the Yellow-Reds traveled to Eryaman Stadium on Sunday, thrashing Ankaragucu 3-0 in the Turkish Super Lig thanks to first-half efforts from Demirbay, Davinson Sanchez and Icardi. Gala are now sitting at the summit of Turkish top flight standings, having pocketed 69 points from 26 games, two clear of the chasing pack.
Sparta Prague probable starting lineup: Vindahl, Vitik, Vydra, Panak, Preciado, Kairinen, Laci, Zeleny, Karabec, Kuchta, Olatunji
Galatasaray probable starting lineup: Muslera, Ayhan, Sanchez, Bardakci, Kutlu, Demirbay, Torreira, Yilmaz, Mertens, Zaha, Icardi
Sparta Prague
| Opponents | Score |
| Liberec | 2-1 (W) |
| Galatasaray | 3-2 (L) |
| Karvina | 0-3 (W) |
| Malmo FF | 1-2 (W) |
| Bodo/Glimt | 0-2 (W) |
Galatasaray
| Opponents | Score |
| Ankaragucu | 0-3 (W) |
| Sparta Prague | 3-2 (W) |
| Basaksehir | 2-0 (W) |
| Bandiramspor | 4-2 (W) |
| Samsunspor | 0-2 (W) |
| Last 3 match-results | Score |
| Galatasaray beat Sparta Prague | 3-2 |
| Galatasaray beat Sparta Prague | 2-0 |
| Sparta Prague beat Galatasaray | 3-0 |
The Europa League fixture between Sparta Prague and Galatasary will take place at epet ARENA on Friday at 1:30 am IST.
| Sparta Prague vs Galatasaray | Key Details |
| Date | February 22 (Czech Republic) |
| Venue | epet ARENA |
| Kickoff time in Czech Republic | 9:00 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in Turkey | 11:00 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 1:30 am (Friday) |
The live telecast of the Europa League matches in India will be available on Sony Sports network. Besides, football fans in India can also live stream the game through Sony LIV. Meanwhile, those in Czech Republic can watch the match on CT Sport. Football fans in Turkey can catch the live action via Exxen.
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