High-flying Bournemouth will endeavour to preserve their 100% Europa League record when they travel to Czechia to face Sparta Prague at epet ARENA on Thursday evening.

While the Cherries occupy third position in the 36-team League Phase standings, the Maroons are down in 16th spot after three matches.

Match preview

After registering only two wins in their opening eight matches in all competitions (D3 L3), new head coach Marco Rose could not have asked for a stronger response from his Bournemouth side who have put together an exceptional six-game winning streak, scoring 16 goals without reply.

Three consecutive 3-0 victories in three different competitions over AC Milan, Manchester United and Aston Villa during a memorable six-day period were followed by a 2-0 home success over Leeds United in the Premier League last weekend.

Sitting eighth in the Premier League table, Bournemouth have won three top-flight games in a row without conceding for the first time in their history. In addition, the Cherries have won their opening three fixtures of their debut Europa League campaign – becoming the first club to achieve this feat since Sunderland in 1973-74.

Prior to their eye-catching home triumph over Milan, Bournemouth held on for a 2-1 victory away against Real Sociedad on matchday one before securing a comfortable 3-0 home win against Sturm Graz; they are one of only five teams out of 36 who currently boast a perfect record in this season’s competition.

Not since January/February 2014 as a Championship side under former boss Eddie Howe have Bournemouth won seven straight matches in all competitions, while they also head to Czechia bidding to win back-to-back competitive away games for the first time this season.

Competing in European competition for the fourth successive season, Sparta Prague have made a mixed start to their Europa League campaign, posting one win, one draw and one defeat from their opening three matches.

After beating Arara-Armenia 4-1 on the road and drawing 1-1 at home to Lillestrom, the Maroons suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at Olympiacos a fortnight ago, but head coach Brian Priske will not be too concerned about his team’s chances of knockout qualification just yet.

Scoring goals on a consistent basis is something Priske must address, though, as Sparta have failed to make the net ripple in four of their last five games in all tournaments, and they enter Thursday’s contest following two disappointing domestic results.

The Maroons suffered a fourth-round exit in the Czech Cup following a 2-0 home defeat to Banik last week, while they have fallen eight points behind city rivals Slavia Prague at the Czech First League summit after being held to a goalless stalemate by bottom-half side Bohemians 1905 last Sunday.

Sparta will hope that a European fixture in front of their passionate home fans will spark an upturn in form, as they welcome Bournemouth to epet ARENA having lost only one of their last nine UEFA home matches (W6 D2).

Sparta Prague Europa League form:

Sparta Prague form (all competitions):

Bournemouth Europa League form:

Bournemouth form (all competitions):

Team News

Sparta Prague are still having to cope without Matej Rynes, Adam Karabec (both ankle), Magnus Kofod Andersen (knee) and Emmanuel Uchenna (thigh) due to injury.

John Mercado has scored a team-high seven goals this term, but the winger missed the last two matches with a calf issue and will be assessed ahead of kickoff on Thursday.

Former Wolves defender Ki-Jana Hoever is expected to continue at right-back, joining captain Jaroslav Zeleny, Tobias Guddal and either Viktor Vitalyos or Martin Suchomel in a four-man defence, while Scottish midfielder Andy Irving - signed from West Ham in the summer - will be pushing to earn a recall.

As for Bournemouth, key midfielder Alex Scott (hamstring) is edging closer to a return but will not be ready to feature on Thursday, while Alex Toth and Julian Araujo (both thigh) remain sidelined.

Bafode Diakite is just one game away from a Europa League suspension, but the defender is still in contention to start and could replace James Hill in the first XI, playing alongside Antonio Silva at centre-back.

Ben Gannon-Doak, Lewis Cook, Amine Adli and Eli Junior Kroupi are all pushing to start, while Evanilson will hope to retain his place up front having scored five goals in his last six games in all competitions.

Sparta Prague possible starting lineup:

Surovcik; Hoever, Zeleny, Guddal, Vitalyos; Irving, Mannsverk, Sochurek; Jurasek, Vojta, Alcocer

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:

Di Gregorio; Smith, Diakite, Silva, Soler; Adams, Cook; Tavernier, Kroupi, Gannon-Doak; Rodriguez

We say: Sparta Prague 0-2 Bournemouth

Bournemouth’s rapid improvements at both ends of the pitch have transformed them into a formidable force, making them firm favourites to come out on top against a goal-shy Sparta Prague outfit.

While the Cherries should not underestimate the Maroons on their own turf, Rose will likely field a strong enough team that can extend their impressive winning streak with another clean sheet to boot.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.