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Young Boys v Sparta Praha background

BSC Young Boys will look to tarnish a milestone for AC Sparta Praha and eliminate the Czech side from UEFA Europa League Group I on their 250th UEFA club competition appearance.

Young Boys' Raphaël Nuzzolo challenges Sparta's Pavel Kadeřábek
Young Boys' Raphaël Nuzzolo challenges Sparta's Pavel Kadeřábek ©AFP/Getty Images

BSC Young Boys can seize a UEFA Europa League round of 32 place on matchday six but need to beat AC Sparta Praha if they are to deny their guests a knockout phase berth.

Young Boys must beat Sparta to finish in the top two places; a draw would not be enough due to their inferior head-to-head record against SSC Napoli.

Sparta will make it through if they avoid defeat, but they will finish below Napoli if the sides are level on points due to an inferior head-to-head record.

Form guide
• Two goals from David Lafata helped Sparta win 3-1 when these sides met for the first time, in the Czech Republic on matchday two.

Sparta failed to score in their first three games in Switzerland (D1 L2) but won 3-1 at FC Lausanne-Sport on their most recent visit, during the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League group stage.

Young Boys are on a six-game winning streak at home in Europe; Sparta's away record in Europe this season is W1 D2 L2.

Trivia and links
• This is Sparta's 250th UEFA club competition game; the previous 249 ended W101 D58 L90.

Sparta defender Radoslav Kováč spent the 2011/12 season in Switzerland at FC Basel 1893.

Young Boys boast Czech talent in the form of defender Jan Lecjaks, who started his career at FC Viktoria Plzeň.

The coaches
• A one-time central defender, Young Boys coach Uli Forte is enjoying his first foray in Europe. Having moved into coaching as player-manager at FC Red Star Zürich, he took charge of FC Wil 1900, FC St Gallen and Grasshopper Club before taking command at Young Boys in 2013.

• As a midfielder, Vítězslav Lavička represented Sparta in three spells, and in 2012 embarked on his third stint as the club's coach, previous postings having seen him lead the Czech Under-21 team and Australian side Sydney FC.

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