Sparta Praha vs Dinamo

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Sparta Prague will host Dinamo Zagreb in the second leg of their Europa League playoff match on Thursday night, looking to overcome a two-goal deficit.

After winning the first leg 3-1 last week, Dinamo will be looking to complete the task and guarantee their spot in the Europa League group stage when they travel to Czechia.

Sparta Prague is at least assured a berth in the Europa Conference League this season after failing to qualify for European competition last year, but their hopes of securing a spot in the Europa League group stage are poor following last week's first-leg loss to Dinamo.

Ladislav Krejci's goal from the penalty spot in the 39th minute appeared to give Sparta the lead going into halftime. However, Dinamo equalized five minutes later through Dario Spikic, and the Croatian team eventually took control of the match thanks to goals from Dino Peric and Luka Ivanusec in the second half.

In response, Brian Priske's team defeated Karvina 3-1 at home on Sunday in the Czech First League, snapping a three-game losing streak across all competitions. Although Rajmund Mikus of Karvina scored a late goal to give the hosts a tense finish, Adam Karabec and Matej Rynes both had goals before the former was dismissed for violent behavior just before the hour mark.

Although Sparta has won six of their last nine home games in all competitions, their last European match on home soil just two weeks ago ended in a disappointing loss to Copenhagen on penalties after a 3-3 second-leg draw, sending them out of the Champions League qualifying third round.

The Czech team is hoping for better luck on Thursday, and they will need to step up their game if they want to defeat Dinamo on aggregate for the second time in Europa League qualifying. In 2008-09, they won via the away goals rule after drawing 3-3 over two legs in a first-round qualifier.

The victory over Sparta in the first leg was Dinamo Zagreb's first under new head coach Sergej Jakirovic, who took over for Igor Biscan shortly after they were eliminated from the Champions League qualification round less than two weeks earlier.

After leading his new team to a 2-1 derby victory over Rijeka in the Croatian 1. HNL last Sunday with to goals from Marko Bulat and Bruno Petkovic, Jakirovic has since made it two wins in a row. However, they still trail league leaders Hadjuk Split by eight points.

The 46-year-old has urged his players to "prepare well" for the second leg if they hope to move to the Europa League group stage as they prepare for another "tough game" against Sparta on Thursday.

Since Dinamo has gone eight games without losing away from home and has never lost to Sparta in their previous four meetings in all competitions, they will be confident of winning in Czechia.