CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND SECOND LEG
Sparta Prague v Shamrock Rovers, epet Arena, 6pm
TV
The game will be broadcast on LOITV.ie for €10.
ONLINE
A live blog can be followed on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.
WEATHER
It'll be a warm one with temperatues about 27 degrees at kick-off time from a high of 30 earlier in the afternoon.
VENUE
Stadion Letna, now known as the epet Arena, has a capacity of over 18,000.
The Republic of Ireland played at the venue during the Steve Staunton era.
Up to 600 Hoops fans are expected to be present and enjoying what Prague has to offer.
OUTCLASSED BUT THEIR OWN MISTAKES
Stephen Bradley hailed one of the best Shamrock Rovers performances of the season in the first leg, yet the game ended in a defeat likely to make this leg near redundant.
That may seem harsh, but the quality of the Czech side was very apparent.
Most frustratingly it was errors in defence which proved costly and when chances arrived the Tallaght side oculd not take them.
Dylan Watts flicked to Dan Cleary without looking while close to their own goal, and it was intercepted inside the box by the advanced Garcia De Albeniz.
Veljko Birmancevic went on to score and in the second half Leon Pohls will feel he could have done better when Tomas Wiesner came in at the back post to double the lead.
Birmancevic is their star player, scoring 16 goals last year, and featured for Serbia this summer at Euro 2024.
Qazim Laci was in Albania's squad and he really showed his quality in the centre of the park.
Sparta, 38 times league winners, have just begun their league season.
They recorded a victory before coming to Dublin and followed it up with a foul-goal salvo against Teplice.
It is fair to say they are a class above and makes tonight such a difficult task.
TIME TO FRESHEN IT UP
As crazy as it sounds, this match is not even the biggest game of Shamrock Rovers' week with how their season has transpired.
Stephen Bradley may be plotting an extraordinary upset in Prague, but must also factor in Friday's Premier Division clash with Waterford in the RSC.
The League of Ireland brings forward games from July to allow Irish sides a clear run in the earlier stages.
From now on though league games must be played alongside European ones, unless schedules get particularly difficult.
The Hoops are in fourth place in the standings and know only the top three positions guarantees European football next season.
They will feel they are still in the mix for the league title so a victory is a must. If that doesn't work out they must certainly ensure they are back in Europe next July.
It remains to be seen if Bradley opts to protect some of his key players or instead uses his bench in the second half to give players a break.
Certainly if the tie is over with the minutes ticking away, prepare to see multiple changes.
TEAM NEWS
Aaron McEneff and Graham Burke are back in training. McEneff is unlikely to be risked to start.
Leading goalkscorer Johnny Kenny has been ruled out after taking a knock in the first half against Sparta, while Rory Gaffney is also unavailable.
Markus Poom came through last week unscathed.
BRADLEY ADMITS EVERYTHING MUST FALL RIGHT
It was the manner of the defeat and how it could have been avoided which hurt Bradley the most.
"We looked really in control," he said. "When you're playing against that level of opposition, you must make sure that you’re in control at all times, whether that’s in or out of possession.
"I thought we did that well and possibly had the better chances on the night. Obviously, you have to take them, but we created some good opportunities and large parts of the performance were really good."
Now trying to overcome a 2-0 deficit, the Hoops boss knows they must score first to give themselves any chance.
"We know it's tough and we know what we’re against. The players have had a feel for it and that’s always good to have a feel for them up close and know what you’re going into. It’s all about those moments in the game, can you capitalise on it?
"We know goals change games, change momentum, we saw that in Tallaght in the first leg. It’s all about staying focussed and when we get those opportunities, taking them. If you take one of them, anything can happen.
"That's the aim (to keep it scoreless to start and look to make a breakthrough), but again you have to respect what we’re playing against, understand what Sparta are really good at. We also have to look at how we can create and score goals and I think we showed in the first leg, we know we can do that. It’s just about taking the opportunities when we get them, so we’ll see."
It will not be easy and the reality facing the Premier Division title holders is they may have to wait for another day for a second victory this year in Europe.
EUROPA LEAGUE NEXT?
The other fact in Bradley's thoughts will be that a European fixture follows next week, regardless of the result.
The loser of this tie takes on the defeated side in the Slovan Bratislava v NK Celje match in the Europa League, currently level on 1-1 ahead of the second leg in Slovakia.
The winner takes on the victorious side in the Champions League encounter between Steaua Bucharest and Maccabi Tel Aviv. That is also well-poised at 1-1.
Those games follow next week.
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