UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - 2020/21 SEASON MATCH PRESS KITS Stadion Letná - Prague Thursday 10 December 2020 21.00CET (21.00 local time) AC Sparta Praha Group H - Matchday 6 AC Milan Last updated 25/08/2021 15:35CET Previous meetings 2 Match background 5 Team facts 7 Squad list 9 Fixtures and results 13 Match-by-match lineups 17 Match officials 19 Legend 20 1 AC Sparta Praha - AC Milan Thursday 10 December 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion Letná, Prague Previous meetings Head to Head UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Brahim Díaz 24, 29/10/2020 GS AC Milan - AC Sparta Praha 3-0 Milan Rafael Leão 57, Dalot 67 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers F. Inzaghi 45+2, 4-1 10/03/2004 R16 AC Milan - AC Sparta Praha Milan Shevchenko 66, 79, agg: 4-1 Gattuso 85; Jun 59 24/02/2004 R16 AC Sparta Praha - AC Milan 0-0 Prague UEFA Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 0-0 07/12/1995 R3 AC Sparta Praha - AC Milan Prague agg: 0-2 23/11/1995 R3 AC Milan - AC Sparta Praha 2-0 Milan Weah 33, 76 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 0-1 25/04/1973 SF AC Sparta Praha - AC Milan Prague Chiarugi 74 agg: 0-2 11/04/1973 SF AC Milan - AC Sparta Praha 1-0 Milan Chiarugi 68 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA AC Sparta Praha 3 0 2 1 4 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 7 0 2 5 1 11 AC Milan 4 4 0 0 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 2 0 11 1 AC Sparta Praha - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers FC Internazionale Milano - AC Éder 23, 90; Mareček 08/12/2016 GS 2-1 Milan Sparta Praha 54 AC Sparta Praha - FC V. Kadlec 7, 25, Holek 29/09/2016 GS 3-1 Prague Internazionale Milano 76; Palacio 71 UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 0-3 Dočkal 10, Krejčí 12, 17/03/2016 R16 SS Lazio - AC Sparta Praha Rome agg: 1-4 Juliš 44 10/03/2016 R16 AC Sparta Praha - SS Lazio 1-1 Prague Frýdek 13; Parolo 38 UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 2 AC Sparta Praha - AC Milan Thursday 10 December 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion Letná, Prague UEFA Europa League 27/11/2014 GS AC Sparta Praha - SSC Napoli 0-0 Prague Higuaín 23 (P), 18/09/2014 GS SSC Napoli - AC Sparta Praha 3-1 Naples Mertens 51, 81; Hušbauer 14 UEFA Europa League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Rigoni 23, Pinilla 60 US Città di Palermo - AC Sparta 02/12/2010 GS 2-2 Palermo (P); Kladrubský 51 Praha (P), Kucka 62 Bony 17, Kladrubský AC Sparta Praha - US Città di 68, V. Kadlec 75; 16/09/2010 GS 3-2 Prague Palermo Maccarone 38, Hernández 83 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 09/12/2003 GS1 AC Sparta Praha - SS Lazio 1-0 Prague Kincl 90+3 S. Inzaghi 46, 61 (P); 01/10/2003 GS1 SS Lazio - AC Sparta Praha 2-2 Rome Sionko 27, Poborský 35 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 07/11/2000 GS1 AC Sparta Praha - SS Lazio 0-1 Prague Ravanelli 42 S. Inzaghi 35, 70, 20/09/2000 GS1 SS Lazio - AC Sparta Praha 3-0 Rome Simeone 58 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Chiesa 22, 90; 27/11/1997 GS Parma FC - AC Sparta Praha 2-2 Parma Novotný 87, Obajdin 89 17/09/1997 GS AC Sparta Praha - Parma FC 0-0 Prague UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers AC Sparta Praha - ACF 1-1 Lokvenc 41; Robbiati 31/10/1996 R2 Prague Fiorentina agg: 2-3 63 ACF Fiorentina - AC Sparta Batistuta 6, Schwarz 17/10/1996 R2 2-1 Florence Praha 57; Siegl 81 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 2-0 17/03/1993 QF Parma FC - AC Sparta Praha Parma Melli 11, Asprilla 33 agg: 2-0 03/03/1993 QF AC Sparta Praha - Parma FC 0-0 Prague 3 AC Sparta Praha - AC Milan Thursday 10 December 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion Letná, Prague European Champions Clubs' Cup Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 1-0 20/03/1985 QF AC Sparta Praha - Juventus Prague Berger 77 (P) agg: 1-3 Tardelli 35, Rossi 64, 06/03/1985 QF Juventus - AC Sparta Praha 3-0 Turin Briaschi 81 AC Milan - Record versus clubs from opponents' country UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers Bystroň 89, Ďuriš 06/12/2011 GS FC Viktoria Plzeň - AC Milan 2-2 Prague 90+3; Pato 47, Robinho 48 Ibrahimović 53 (P), 28/09/2011 GS AC Milan - FC Viktoria Plzeň 2-0 Milan Cassano 66 UEFA Champions League Date Stage Match Result Venue Goalscorers 2-1 Slepička 47, Langer 28/08/2002 QR3 FC Slovan Liberec - AC Milan Liberec agg: 2-2 ag 87; F. Inzaghi 20 14/08/2002 QR3 AC Milan - FC Slovan Liberec 1-0 Milan F. Inzaghi 68 Home Away Final Total Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L GF GA AC Sparta Praha 13 4 7 2 14 1 3 10 0 0 0 0 27 5 10 12 23 38 AC Milan 6 6 0 0 5 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 11 7 3 1 17 5 4 AC Sparta Praha - AC Milan Thursday 10 December 2020 - 21.00CET (21.00 local time) Match press kit Stadion Letná, Prague Match background Sparta Praha can no longer qualify for the round of 32 but will nevertheless be eager to end their European season on a high as they host AC Milan in the Czech capital. • The Czech side's hopes of further progress were dashed by a 2-1 defeat at LOSC Lille on Matchday 5, when Milan clinched their own place in the knockout phase by coming from 0-2 down to beat bottom-placed Celtic 4-2 at home with goals from Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Samu Castillejo, Jens Petter Hauge and Brahim Díaz. The Italian side trail LOSC by a point and also have a head-to-head disadvantage, so in order to win the group they must beat Sparta and hope that the French club do not do likewise away to Celtic. Previous meetings • The Serie A giants maintained their unbeaten record against Sparta when they defeated them 3-0 in Milan on Matchday 1, a penalty miss by Zlatan Ibrahimović proving inconsequential thanks to goals from Iberian trio Díaz, Rafael Leão and Diogo Dalot. • Milan are now unbeaten in seven matches against Sparta (W5 D2) and have kept clean sheets in each of their three matches in Prague (W1 D2), the win coming on their first visit, 1-0 in the semi-final second leg of the 1972/73 European Cup Winners' Cup, which the Rossoneri went on to win. • Sparta have now played 27 UEFA matches against Italian clubs, winning just five (D10 L12), four of those at home, where they have been beaten only twice and not at all in the last six encounters (W3 D3), the most recent of which yielded a 3-1 win against Milan's stadium-sharing rivals Internazionale in the 2016/17 UEFA Europa League group stage. • Although Milan have won six games out of six against Czech visitors to San Siro, they have only managed a solitary victory from their five trips to the Czech Republic (D3 L1) – that 1973 success against Sparta. Form guide Sparta • Sparta won the 2019/20 Czech Cup, beating Slovan Liberec 2-1 in the final, to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage, where they are appearing for the seventh time, the first under new coach Václav Kotal. They have made it through to the knockout phase in four of their previous six participations, reaching the quarter-finals in 2015/16. • This is the club's 38th successive European campaign but their first in a group stage since 2016/17, when they finished top of a UEFA Europa League section containing Hapoel Beer-Sheva, Southampton and Internazionale before going out in the round of 32 to Rostov (0-4 a, 1-1 h). Since then Sparta have been eliminated on entry in the UEFA Europa League qualifying phase three summers running, going out last season to Trabzonspor in the second qualifying round (2-2 h, 1-2 a). • Sparta have lost only two of their 19 UEFA Europa League home group games (W12 D6) but had their 15-match unbeaten run ended on Matchday 1 when they were humbled 4-1 in the Czech capital by LOSC. They beat Celtic by the same score in Prague on Matchday 4. Milan • A sixth-placed finish in Serie A last term earned Milan a return to Europe after a one-season absence. Stefano Pioli's side beat Shamrock Rovers (2-0 a) and runaway Norwegian league leaders Bodø/Glimt (3-2 h) in their first two qualifying matches before dramatically capturing a place in the UEFA Europa League group stage by ousting Rio Ave 9-8 in a marathon penalty shoot-out after a 2-2 draw in Portugal.