OFFENSIVE POWERHOUSE MEETS TEAM WITHOUT FIREPOWER: SPARTA HEADS TO FORTRESS OF DESPAIR

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April 19, 2025

FK Pardubice - AC Sparta Praha

The CFIG Arena in Pardubice will witness a duel on Saturday between two teams from opposite ends of the table. Home side FK Pardubice, who are already certain to participate in the relegation group, welcome Prague's Sparta, who are still fighting for a position guaranteeing European competition.

The East Bohemian side is experiencing one of the worst seasons in their top-flight history. After 29 rounds, they have just 19 points, and it's already clear that this represents their lowest points tally after the regular season in the club's history. Their previous minimum of 24 points from the 2021/22 season will thus be negatively surpassed. Pardubice will also become the only team to participate in the relegation group in all of the last four seasons.

"We realistically evaluated the situation a few weeks ago and know that a fight for survival awaits us after the regular season," admits Pardubice coach Jiří Saňák. "Now we're focusing on entering the playoff round in the best possible form and position. Every point will count."

The main problem for the home team is their extraordinarily low productivity. Pardubice failed to score in their last league match against Jablonec and have played a total of 17 games this season without scoring a goal. In the top ten European competitions, only České Budějovice have more such matches, and only three teams in Czech league history have recorded more goalless games at this stage of the season than the current 17 – Zlín in the 1994/95 season, Jablonec in the 1999/00 season, and Příbram in the 2019/20 season (all 19).

A characteristic feature of Pardubice is also the fact that they often lose by narrow margins. In the last round, they succumbed to Jablonec 0-1, which was already their sixth defeat by this score in the season – no other team in the Chance Liga has recorded such a result more than four times. In addition, the East Bohemians added three more defeats by a one-goal difference (twice 1-2 and once 2-3), making them the team with the most narrow defeats in the competition (9).

On the other side, Prague's Sparta, despite defending their title, is experiencing a contradictory season from the perspective of their ambitions. Although they defeated Mladá Boleslav in the last round, their 18 wins after 29 rounds is still the lowest number since the 2020/21 season (also 18). Moreover, the Letná side finds themselves in fourth place in the league table after 29 rounds for the first time since the 2019/20 season.

"Of course, we're not satisfied with our position in the table, but the season isn't over yet," emphasizes Sparta captain Ladislav Krejčí. "Now we need to collect points in every match and hope that the teams ahead of us slip up. We want to start in Pardubice, where we expect a tough match, but we're going there for three points."

What is working perfectly, however, is Sparta's offensive machinery. The Prague team scored two goals against Mladá Boleslav, recording their 21st league match this season with more than one goal scored. In the top ten European competitions, there are only seven teams with more such matches – Liverpool (28), PSV (25), Fenerbahçe (23), Ajax, Bayern, Genk, and Sporting CP (all 22).

The head-to-head match thus promises a confrontation between offensively minded Sparta and Pardubice, who often lose by narrow margins. Despite the different positions in the table, the match could offer an interesting spectacle, especially if the visiting team encounters a well-organized defense from the home side.

We thank OPTA for providing the statistical data. Photo: source XYZ