Shamrock Rovers v Sparta Prague: All you need to know

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND FIRST LEG

Shamrock Rovers v Sparta Prague, Tallaght Stadium, 7.45pm

The game will be broadcast on LOITV.ie for €10.

ONLINE

A live blog can be followed on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app.

WEATHER

Another dry Dublin evening with warm temperatures of about 14 degrees at kick-off. Neither side can have any complaints.

ATTENDANCE

There will be a record European attendance in Tallaght with a sellout home crowd of over 8,000.

STEP UP IN CLASS

While Vikingur had international experience, Sparta really do represent a difference in quality.

They had six internationals who featured at Euro 2024 and Copa America, including two for their home nation in Jan Kuchta and Martin Vitik.

Veljko Birmancevic is their star player, scoring 16 goals last year, and featured for Serbia this summer.

Qazim Laci was in Albania's squad.

Angelo Preciado was in Copa America with Ecuador and has been linked with a €10m move to Everton.

Recent signings Imanol García (Athletic Bilbao) and Peter Vindahl (AZ Alkmaar) show they have ambitions to progress this season.

Vindahl arrived for €1.5m earlier this year.

Their most recent recruit is 23-year-old Mathias Ross on loan from Galatasaray.

Ladislav Krejci left the club earlier in the summer, joining Girona for €8m before he featured for Czechia in the Euros.

Sparta have won their own league 38 times so they are certainly a powerhouse when it comes to the qualifying rounds of European competition.

RECENT EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE

Sparta's European campaign ran all the way to March last season.

It ended in a heavy defeat to Liverpool in the Europa League but to progress to the last 16 was a good achivement.

They've beaten Celtic and Rangers in recent seasons and anything but group