Who will Liverpool face in the next round of the Europa League?

Liverpool will be taking on Sparta Prague for their next round of the Europa League

Liverpool are all set to take on Sparta Prague on March 7th next month. This will be their first leg with the second scheduled to take place a week later at Anfield. Darwin Nunez, Joel Matip, Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Ben Doak, Alisson Becker, Stefan Bajcetic, Thiago Alcantara, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai are all on the Reds’ injury list.

Now while fans will be quick to celebrate the fact that Liverpool have drawn an opponent that is not on par with their quality, it is important to remember that the European competitions are famous for surprises. The Reds may even have to face the prospect of elimination in the next round.

Moreover, with all the injuries that the first-team players are dealing with, There is a chance that Jurgen Klopp will have to take the ground with a depleted squad. The German manager’s last dance might not go according to plan if additional injuries occur ahead of the game against Sparta.

Jota will be out for months and is likely to miss the rest of the Europa League matches.

If we take a look at how both teams have fared against each other in the past, then the Reds are clear winners but not by a large margin. The last time that Liverpool and Sparta Prague faced off was in 2011. They played two games, one ended in a 0-0 draw while the Reds came away with a slim 1-0 victory in the second game.

It’s been more than a decade since then and both teams have undergone massive transformations during that time. Liverpool would be wrong to take their opponents lightly as they are currently on top of their domestic league much like Jurgen Klopp’s men who are on top of the Premier League.