Villarreal and Sparta Prague meet for the first time in a European competition on Thursday when the two sides go head to head in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals at the Estadio El Madrigal.
The Spanish side are yet to concede a goal at home in this competition, but Sparta head into the clash unbeaten in their last 12 European games.
Villarreal
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Marcelino's side boast a very strong home record in the Europa League this season as they are yet to concede a goal and have won all five matches on their patch.
Villarreal have not been beaten in this competition since they suffered a 2-1 loss to Rapid Vienna in the group stages in September. In fact, they have won six and drawn three of the matches that followed.
The Spanish team secured their position in the final eight by overcoming Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 on aggregate and it was a positive start for the Yellow Submarine as they claimed victory in the first leg at home.
Cedric Bakambu opened the scoring in the fourth minute and the team managed to hold off their German opponents before he added another goal to the scoreline 11 minutes into the second half.
The 2-0 result proved to be crucial as both sides played out a goalless stalemate in the return fixture hosted by Leverkusen.
Since that fixture, Marcelino's side have performed well in La Liga having earned a 2-2 draw with leaders Barcelona and claiming a 2-1 triumph over Eibar.
Villarreal showed their determination against Barca as they managed to come from two goals down to claim a point. Bakambu led the fightback with a 57th-minute goal and an own goal from Jeremy Mathieu cancelled out strikes from Ivan Rakitic and Neymar.
With regards to Villarreal's previous campaigns in the Europa League, they have managed to reach the semi-finals twice in the 2003-04 and 2010-11 seasons, but both times they were beaten by the eventual winners.
Recent form: WDWDWD
Recent form (all competitions): LWLDDW
Sparta Prague
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Most teams would feel intimidated travelling to a ground that has not witnessed a goal go against Villarreal in this season's Europa League, but Zdenek Scasny's side have claimed convincing back-to-back away wins in this competition.
The most recent was the second leg of their last-16 clash against Lazio in which they managed to thump the Italian side 3-0, with goals from Boreck Dockal, Ladislav Krejci and Lukas Julis.
The result was enough to wrap up the contest following a tense 1-1 draw in the Czech Republic, and they had already proven their away form in the previous month when they overcame Krasnodar 3-0 in the group phase.
In addition to extending their winning away run to three games, Sparta have not been beaten in any of their 12 Europa League fixtures having claimed seven wins and five draws.
Scasny's side are only one of three teams, including Liverpool and Shakhtar Donetsk, who are yet to lose in this campaign.
The last time that the Czech club reached a quarter-finals in Europe was in the 1983-84 UEFA Cup, with Scasny playing in the tie, but the team ended up getting eliminated by HNK Hajduk Split.
Sparta are second in the Czech Liga, but their campaign was halted by a 2-0 defeat to Slovacko at the weekend, which ended a six-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Recent form: WWWWDW
Recent form (all competitions): DWWWWL
Team News
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Villarreal will be without right-back Antonio Rukavina as he is suspended for the first leg after getting booked in the round-of-16 match against Bayer Leverkusen.
Mario Gaspar could replace the defender, while Mateo Musacchio and Daniele Bonera will be absent from the squad due to hamstring and groin injuries respectively.
As for the visiting side, defender Mario Holek has been ruled out of the clash due to injury, but midfielder Lukas Vacha could be included following a spell out of the team.
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Asenjo; Gaspar, Ruiz, Adrain, Eric; Suarez, Pina, Castlillejo, Soriano; Lopez, Soldado.
Sparta Prague possible starting lineup:
Bicik; Brabec, Mazuch, Nhamoniesu; Zahustel, Marecek, Krejci, Vacha, Dockal; Sural, Julis
Head To Head
These two sides have never met before in a UEFA competition, but Villarreal have a decent record over Czech opponents as they are unbeaten in five matches following three wins and two draws.
In two of the home games against Czech teams Villarreal did not concede a goal, and their last meeting with a side from that nation was Viktoria Plzen, who managed to draw 3-3 at home in the group stage, but lost 1-0 away.
As for Sparta, they have won five, drawn two and lost 10 of their 17 European matches against Spanish teams. In fact, they have not managed to find the back of the net in their last four games in Spain.
We say: Villarreal 2-0 Sparta Prague
Villarreal have proven their strength on home turf in the Europa League this season and they are heading into the match full of confidence after taking points off Barcelona and Eibar in La Liga in recent weeks. Sparta are unbeaten in the competition, but they have a poor track record against Spanish sides. They will try to become the first Europa League team this season to score against Villarreal at the Estadio El Madrigal, but the hosts are likely to extend their unbeaten record to six games.
Danielle Joynson
