Sparta will face Rapid Vienna in the 2nd preliminary round of the Champions League, starting outside

The Spartans will compete with Rapid Vienna in the 2nd preliminary round of the Champions League. The first match will take place on July 20 or 21 in Austria, retaliation is on the program a week later. Today’s ticket in Nyon, Switzerland, decided that.

As a seeded team, Sparta could only get three teams for their opponents in the 2nd round of the non-championship – in addition to Rapid, also Galatasaray Istanbul or Danish Midtjylland, which eliminated Prague’s Slavia in the final playoff last year. If the charges of coach Pavel Vrba from the 2nd preliminary round advance, they will be guaranteed at least participation in the basic group of the European League. In the event that they went through the 3rd preliminary round, in which Slavia will also start in the championship branch of the qualification, they would still have to play off.

Letna’s first participation in the Champions League qualification since 2016 earned second place in the league. The last seven starts in the qualification of the prestigious competition did not bring Sparta participation in the main phase. She last appeared in it in the year 2005/06 as well as Rapid.

“I didn’t have an opponent that I would definitely like. In the draw basket, there are teams that have their quality, they regularly play in European cups. It suits me that it’s not a long distance. It’s a team behind the hill.” Vrba said in an interview for club television.

“I mainly hope that in the home match the fans will push us to advance and to be sure of the group of European Cups. I hope that we will fight for the group of the Champions League,” declared the former coach of the Czech national team and Pilsen, with whom he played the basic group of the millionaire competition three times.

Sparta will have to do without supporters in the Austrian capital, as UEFA does not allow visiting fans to participate in stadiums in the preliminary rounds due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In the last two seasons, Rapid finished second in the domestic competition behind Salzburg, which dominated the Austrian league eight times in a row. He lost 15 points to him last year. With 32 titles, Rapid is historically the most successful Austrian team. However, he rejoiced in the last primacy in 2008.

The Vienna team is a regular participant in the European Cups. Last year, he presented himself in the basic group of the European League, in which, however, he finished third in the competition of Arsenal, Molde and Dundalk and did not advance to the elimination phase. Since the last start in the main phase of the Champions League, he has failed to qualify for this competition three times in a row.

Sparta last faced Rapid in a friendly match in 2011, when they beat him 2-0. She has not met in European cups in the modern history of the team. The last time Rapid clashed with the Czech team in the European Cups in the 2015/16 season in the European League, when Pilsen defeated 3: 2 at home and 2: 1 away.

Loss of the 2nd preliminary round of the Champions League (first matches on July 20 and 21, revenge on July 27 and 28):

Master part:

Dinamo Zagreb – Valur Reykjavík / Omonia Nikósie, Slovan Bratislava / Shamrock Rovers (Ir.) – Young Boys Bern, Bodö Glimt (Nor.) / Legia Warsaw – Flora Tallinn / Hibernian (Mal.), Connah’s Quay Nomads (Wal.) / Alashkert (Arm.) – Teuta (Alb.) / Sheriff Tiraspol, Olympiakos Piraeus – Dinamo Tbilisi / Neftchi Baku, Maccabi Haifa / Kairat Almaty – Red Star Belgrade, Fola Esch (Luc.) / Lincoln Red Imps (Gibr.) – Cluj / Borac Banja Luka (Bos.), Malmö / Riga FC – HJK Helsinki // Buducnost Podgorica, Ferencváros Budapest / Folgore (San Mar.) / Pristina / HB Tórshavn (Faer. Ost.) / Inter Club d’Escaldes (And. ) – Žalgiris Vilnius / Linfield (Sev. Ir.), Škendija Tetovo (Sev. Mak.) / Mura (Slovin.) – Ludogorets Razgrad / Soligorsk (Běl.).

Non-master part:

Rapid Vienna – Sparta Prague, Celtic – Central Jutland, PSV Eindhoven – Galatasaray.