Sparta Prague Vs Inter Milan Prediction: Consistency Of The Central Nerazzurri Is At Risk

Lautaro Martinez led the Inter Milan attack (photo: x @inter).

JAKARTA Inter Milan will continue their journey in the Champions League with the ambition of securing an automatic place in the round of 16 when they travel to Sparta Prague headquarters on Wednesday night, January 21 or Thursday morning WIB.

Inter are currently collecting 13 points from six games, putting them in a strong position to avoid the playoffs. Meanwhile, Sparta Prague has only collected four points and is in an elimination position, making this match crucial for them to keep their hopes of staying in the competition.

Inter Milan started their Champions League campaign this season with an impressive record before finally experiencing their first defeat against Bayer Leverkusen before the winter break. The defeat came as a result of goals in the 90th minute, ending Inter's five consecutive clean sheet record in the group stage.

However, Simone Inzaghi's troops remain one of the seeds in this competition. As a three-time Champions League champion and finalist for the 2023 season, Inter now only need a win against Sparta Prague and Monaco to secure a place in the last 16 without going through the playoffs.

This season, Inter's performance in all competitions is very consistent. Of the 29 matches, they only lost three times, with two of them occurring in the derby against AC Milan. After losing the Italiana Supercoppa title for throwing away a two-goal lead against Milan, Inter managed to get up with seven points from their last three Serie A matches.

In the last match against Empoli, Lautaro Martinez again showed his good form by scoring the opener in a 3-1 win. Denzel Dumfries also continued his brilliant performance by scoring his fourth goal in the last five games, while Marcus Thuram closed the win with his goal from the bench.

Inter's away record is also extraordinary. They recorded six consecutive wins in Serie A without conceding, including a 1-0 win against Venezia who broke the club's record. In addition, Inter have never lost against the Czech team in the Champions League, making them strong favorites in this match.

On the other hand, Sparta Prague faced great pressure. They lost their last four games in the group stage, including a 4-2 loss to Feyenoord in the previous game. In that match, Sparta was three goals down in just the first 30 minutes.

Sparta had started the season well, unbeaten in 15 games in all competitions. However, their performance slumped drastically, with eight defeats in the last 17 matches. Statistics also show their weaknesses in the Champions League, where Sparta has only won one of the last 20 games outside the qualifying round.

The 6-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid at home was their worst defeat in this competition. Despite having had a training camp in Spain during the winter break, the victory in the friendly match against Malmo and Bodo/Glimt was not enough to raise their confidence.

With two games remaining, Sparta needed a win against Inter to keep their chances of qualifying. However, with bad statistics against the Italian team, this task became very difficult for Lars Friis's men.

In this match, Simone Inzaghi was unable to field Yann Bisseck, Hakan Calhanoglu, and Joaquin Correa who were still injured. However, Benjamin Pavard and Francesco Acerbi have returned to the squad, providing additional options at the back.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has just recovered from injury, emerged as a substitute in the match against Empoli. Even so, Piotr Zielinski will most likely remain the main choice in midfield.

On the front lines, Lautaro Martinez almost certainly led the attack. The Argentine striker has again found his best form and has now scored 111 goals in Serie A, matching Mauro Icardi's record as the club's second-highest goalscorer for foreign players.

Meanwhile, Sparta had to perform without Imanol Garcia, Angelo Preciado, and Lukas Haraslin who were still injured. However, Elias Badminton will most likely return to the squad after recovering from injury.

Victor Olatunji, a Nigerian striker who has scored three goals in three Champions League appearances this season, will be the mainstay on the front lines with Albion Rrahmani. In addition, Sparta also strengthened their squad by bringing in Magnus Andersen from Venezia and re-borrowing Jan Kuchta from Midtjylland.

With Inter's consistent performance and weak defense Sparta, this match is predicted to be dominated by the visitors. Inter will most likely take advantage of Sparta's backline's weakness to score a quick goal and secure victory.

However, Sparta still has potential surprises, especially if they are able to take advantage of the support from the host supporters. This match will be a big test for both teams, but Inter are seeded for the full three points.

Sparta Prague (3-4-3):Jensen; Vitik, Panak, Zelezny; Wiesner, Laci, Kairinen, Rynes; Birmancevic, Olatunji, Rrahmani

Inter Milan (3-5-2):Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Asllani, Zielinski, Dimarco; Martinez, Thuram