The Czech national team squad had a light training session in Prague 6-Strahov yesterday (Tuesday), ahead of next Tuesday’s Euro 2012 against Lithuania.

The Czechs are due to travel to Olomouc, where the game’s being played, by train tomorrow and will play a warm-up game against Sigma Olomouc on Friday.

Five members of Michal Bilek’s squad currently have fitness worries — Milan Baros and Roman Bednar both have Achilles problems, Martin Fenin has a back problem, and Tomas Rosicky and Mario Holek are both sick.

The game, at Sigma’s Andruv stadion ground, kicks off at 8:15pm and is already a sell-out.

CZECH SQUAD
GOALKEEPERS
Jan Lastuvka (Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine; 0 caps/0 goals)
Petr Cech (Chelsea, England; 74 caps/0 goals)

DEFENDERS
Roman Hubnik (Hertha Berlin, Germany; 8 caps/1 goal)
Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine; 29 caps/0 goals)
Michal Kadlec (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany; 16 caps/1 goal)
Zdenek Pospech (Kobenhavn, Denmark; 19 caps/2 goals)
Jan Rajnoch (Ankaragucu, Turkey; 8 caps/0 goals)
Marek Suchy (Spartak Moskva, Russia; 0 caps/0 goals)

MIDFIELDERS
Mario Holek (Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine; 5 caps/0 goals)
Jaroslav Plasil (Girondins Bordeaux, France; 56 caps/4 goals)
Jan Polak (Anderlecht, Belgium; 51 caps/7 goals)
Daniel Pudil (Genk, Belgium; 14 caps/2 goals)
Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal, England; 73 caps/19 goals)
Jiri Stajner (Slovan Liberec; 33 caps/4 goals)

FORWARDS
Milan Baros (Galatasaray, Turkey; 78 caps/38 goals)
Roman Bednar (West Bromwich Albion, England; 4 caps/1 goal)
Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany; 13 caps/3 goals)
Tomas Necid (CSKA Moskva, Russia; 16 caps/6 goals)

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Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), CMFS (Fotbal.cz)

Ending a run of three consecutive defeats, Sparta Praha responded to talk of a crisis with a 5-0 win away to Brno, who remain bottom of the table.

This was the last Gambrinus liga game before the international break.

Following the national team’s Euro qualifier against Lithuania (next Tuesday in Olomouc), the Gambrinus liga resumes on Friday, September 10th.

GAMBRINUS LIGA 2010/11
SEVENTH ROUND
MONDAY, AUGUST 30TH, 2010
Zbrojovka Brno 0, Sparta Praha 5
Half Time: 0-3
Goals: 1st Kadlec, 35th Pamic, 36th Vacek, 71st Kucka, 76th Sionko
Attendance: 5,284
Sam’s Prediction: Sparta Win (Correct)

Gambrinus Liga Highlights on iDnes.cz

GAMBRINUS LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER SEVEN OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Plzen, 19 points
2nd Olomouc, 15
3rd Mlada Boleslav, 13
4th Sparta Praha, 12
5th Jablonec, 11
6th Teplice, 11
7th Slavia Praha, 9
8th Pribram, 9
9th Ceske Budejovice, 8
10th Hradec Kralove, 8
11th Usti nad Labem, 8
12th Liberec, 7
13th Slovacko, 7
14th Bohemians 1905, 6
15th Ostrava, 5
16th Brno, 3

Gambrinus Liga Results & Standings

LEADING SCORERS
=1st Jan Rezek (Viktoria Plzen), 6 goals
=1st Michal Hubnik (Sigma Olomouc), 6
=3rd Bony Wilfried (Sparta Praha), 4
=3rd Karol Kisel (Slavia Praha), 4
=3rd Daniel Kolar (Viktoria Plzen), 4

MOST CLEAN SHEETS
=1st Pavel Kucera (Dynamo Ceske Budejovice), 3 games
=1st David Bicik (Slovan Liberec), 3
=1st Miroslav Miller (Mlada Boleslav), 3
=1st Ales Hruska (Pribram), 3

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Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), CMFS (Fotbal.cz)

Viktoria Plzen go four points clear after winning 3-0 in Ceske Budejovice yesterday (Sunday).

The only other unbeaten Gambrinus liga team, second-placed Sigma Olomouc, were held to a 1-1 draw away to Slavia.

After a dismal start, Teplice moved up to fifth after winning 1-0 in Ostrava.

Teplice have won three in a row since surprisingly loaning star midfielder Stepan Vachousek to Sparta while Ostrava, serious title contenders last season, drop into the bottom two.

GAMBRINUS LIGA 2010/11
SEVENTH ROUND
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27TH, 2010
Slavia Praha 1, Sigma Olomouc 1
Half Time: 0-0
Goals: 54th J. Cerny — 79th Hubnik
Attendance: 5,794
Sam’s Prediction: Draw (Correct)

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28TH, 2010
Pribram 1, Hradec Kralove 0
Half Time: 0-0
Goal: 81st Wagner
Attendance: 2,823
Sam’s Prediction: Pribram Win (Correct)

Banik Ostrava 0, Teplice 1
Half Time: 0-0
Goal: 46th Mares
Attendance: 3,654
Sam’s Prediction: Draw (Wrong)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 2010
Usti nad Labem 1, Bohemians 1905 0
Half Time: 0-0
Goal: 54th Volek
Attendance: 2,558
Sam’s Prediction: Draw (Wrong)

Baumit Jablonec 3, Slovacko 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goals: 10th Mezlik (own goal), 62nd Haurdic, 69th Elias
Attendance: 3,111
Sam’s Prediction: Jablonec Win (Correct)

Dynamo Ceske Budejovice 0, Viktoria Plzen 3
Half Time: 0-0
Goals: 50th Kolar, 57th Rezek, 72nd Kolar
Sent Off: 78th Ondrasek (Ceske Budejovice)
Attendance: 4,082
Sam’s Prediction: Draw (Wrong)

Mlada Boleslav 3, Slovan Liberec 1
Half Time: 1-0
Goals: 28th Chramosta, 50th Prochazka, 78th Kulic — 47th Stajner
Sent Off: 23rd Kelic (Liberec)
Attendance: 4,723
Sam’s Prediction: Mlada Boleslav Win (Correct)

Gambrinus Liga Highlights on iDnes.cz

MONDAY, AUGUST 30TH, 2010
Brno vs. Sparta Praha (6pm)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT2
Sam’s Prediction: Sparta Win

Online Coverage of all Gambrinus liga games: http://www.tipovani.cz/

GAMBRINUS LIGA STANDINGS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 2010
1st Plzen, 7 games, 19 points
2nd Olomouc, 7 games, 15 points
3rd Mlada Boleslav, 7 games, 13 points
4th Jablonec, 7 games, 11 points
5th Teplice, 7 games, 11 points
6th Sparta Praha, 6 games, 5 points
7th Slavia Praha, 7 games, 9 points
8th Pribram, 7 games, 5 points
9th Ceske Budejovice, 7 games, 8 points
10th Hradec Kralove, 7 games, 8 points
11th Usti nad Labem, 7 games, 8 points
12th Liberec, 7 games, 8 points
13th Slovacko, 7 games, 7 points
14th Bohemians 1905, 7 games, 6 points
15th Ostrava, 7 games, 5 points
16th Brno, 6 games, 14 points

Gambrinus Liga Results & Fixtures

—
DRUHA LIGA (SECOND DIVISION) 2010/11
FIFTH ROUND
Tescoma Zlin lose their 100-percent record and drop to fourth place following their 2-0 loss to Sparta Praha’s B-team.

Graffin Vlasim, from a central Bohemian town of around 13,000 people, are the new leaders after their emphatic 5-0 away win in Hlucin.

Viktoria Zizkov won the Druha liga’s first Prague derby of the season, coming from behind to beat Dukla.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 27TH, 2010
Jihlava 2, Sokolov 1

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28TH, 2010
Sparta Praha B 2, Zlin 0

Trinec 0, Znojmo 3

Most 1, Varnsdorf 1

Hlucin 0, Vlasim 5

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 2010
Zizkov 2, Dukla Praha 1

Karvina 0, Kladno 2

Caslav 1, Sezimovo Usti 1

DRUHA LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER FIVE OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Vlasim, 13 points
2nd Sparta Praha B, 13
3rd Zizkov, 12
4th Zlin, 12
5th Dukla Praha, 10
6th Jihlava, 9
7th Karvina, 7
8th Varnsdorf, 7
9th Most, 7
10th Kladno, 6
11th Sokolov, 4
12th Caslav, 4
13th Sezimovo Usti, 4
14th Trinec, 4
15th Znojmo, 3
16th Hlucin, 0

Druha Liga Fixtures

***********
Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), CMFS (Fotbal.cz)

GROUP F
CSKA Moskva (Russia)
Palermo (Italy)
Sparta Praha
Lausanne (Switzerland)

League leaders Viktoria Plzen travel to that other great Czech brewing city, Ceske Budejovice, on Sunday for a potentially difficult game.

Like Plzen, Dynamo Ceske Budejovice are unbeaten so far this season — even if Budejovice have drawn five of their six games — and are expected to give defender Roman Lengyel his first game since rejoining his former club from Russian side FC Rostov.

Plzen, meanwhile, are under new ownership, having announced midweek that a group of investors led by Olomouc businessman Tomas Paclik has taken control of the club.

The season’s only other unbeaten team, second-placed Sigma Olomouc, also face a tough away game, at Slavia Praha.

Champions Sparta will be hoping to bounce back from three consecutive defeats away to bottom-of-the-table Brno, where officials are dismissing a Denik Sport report that the club has financial problems and owes players money.

GAMBRINUS LIGA 2010/11
SEVENTH ROUND
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27TH, 2010
Slavia Praha vs. Sigma Olomouc (5:30pm)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on Nova Sport
Sam’s Prediction: Draw

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28TH, 2010
Pribram vs. Hradec Kralove (4pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Pribram Win

Banik Ostrava vs. Teplice (5:45pm)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT4
Sam’s Prediction: Draw

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 2010
Usti nad Labem vs. Bohemians 1905 (3pm)
Venue: Na Stinadlech, Teplice
Sam’s Prediction: Draw

Baumit Jablonec vs. Slovacko (3pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Jablonec Win

Dynamo Ceske Budejovice vs. Viktoria Plzen (5pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Draw

Mlada Boleslav vs. Slovan Liberec (5pm)
Sam’s Prediction: Mlada Boleslav Win
Czech TV Coverage: Live on Sport2

MONDAY, AUGUST 30TH, 2010
Zbrojovka Brno vs. Sparta Praha (6pm)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT2
Sam’s Prediction: Sparta Win

Online Coverage of all Gambrinus liga games: http://www.tipovani.cz/

GAMBRINUS LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER SIX OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Plzen, 16 points
2nd Olomouc, 14
3rd Mlada Boleslav, 10
4th Sparta Praha, 9
5th Ceske Budejovice, 8
6th Slavia Praha, 8
=7th Jablonec, 8
=7th Teplice, 8
9th Hradec Kralove, 8
10th Liberec, 7
11th Slovacko, 7
12th Bohemians 1905, 6
13th Pribram, 6
14th Ostrava, 5
15th Usti nad Labem, 5
16th Brno, 3

Gambrinus Liga Results & Fixtures

—
DRUHA LIGA (SECOND DIVISION) 2010/11
FIFTH ROUND
FRIDAY, AUGUST 27TH, 2010
Jihlava vs. Sokolov (6pm)

SATURDAY, AUGUST 28TH, 2010
Sparta Praha B vs. Zlin (10:15am)
Venue: Treninkove centrum Horni Pocernice, Prague 9-Horni Pocernice

Trinec vs. Znojmo (10:15am)

Most vs. Varnsdorf (4pm)

Hlucin vs. Vlasim (4pm)

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 2010
Zizkov vs. Dukla Praha (10:15am)

Karvina vs. Kladno (4pm)

Caslav vs. Sezimovo Usti (5pm)

DRUHA LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER FOUR OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Zlin, 12 points
2nd Dukla Praha, 10
3rd Vlasim, 10
4th Sparta Praha B, 10
5th Zizkov, 9
6th Karvina, 7
7th Varnsdorf, 6
8th Jihlava, 6
9th Most, 6
10th Sokolov, 4
11th Trinec, 4
12th Kladno, 3
13th Caslav, 3
14th Sezimovo Usti, 3
15th Znojmo, 0
16th Hlucin, 0

Druha Liga Fixtures

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Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), CMFS (Fotbal.cz), iDnes.cz, CTK (SportovniNoviny.cz)

Sparta’s slim chances of reaching the Champions League’s group phase vanished last night following a 1-0 loss to Zilina, and the Prague side now go into the Europa League.

If an early goal from Zilina’s Gambian striker Momodou Ceesay hadn’t already decided the contest, Jiri Kladrubsky’s failure to convert a 54th-minute penalty killed off any hope of a dramatic Sparta comeback.

Before the game, 16 people were injured in clashes between Sparta supporters and Slovak police.

The Europa League group phase draw will be held tomorrow (Friday) in Monaco, a little after 1pm Czech time.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010/11
PLAY-OFFS, SECOND LEG
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25TH, 2010
MSK Zilina (Slovakia) 1, Sparta Praha 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goals: 18th Ceesay
Attendance: 10,892
First Leg: 2-0; Zilina win 3-0 on aggregate

Sparta Team: Blazek — Adiaba (46th Kweuke), Hoheneder, Hejda, Pamic (86th Tresnak) — Kladrubsky — Sionko (61st Kaderabek), Kucka, Vachousek, Krejci — Wilfried

UEFA.com Coverage

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Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), CTK (SportovniNoviny.cz), UEFA.com

With a mountain to climb if they’re to reach the Champions League’s group phase, Sparta take on Slovak champions Zilina tonight at a sold-out Pod Dubnom stadium.

Libor Sionko and Bony Wilfried are both back from suspension but Sparta will be missing central defensive duo Tomas Repka and Erich Brabec, both of whom picked up their second yellow cards of the tournament in the first leg, and Marek Matejovsky, who’s in the middle of a three-game ban.

Adding to coach Jozef Chovanec’s problems, Sparta’s extensive injury list currently features forward Milos Lacny, defender Ondrej Kusnir, midfielder Igor Zofcak and defensive midfielder Lubos Husek, with attacking midfielder/forward Vaclav Kadlec also unlikely to play.

Sparta have been preparing for tonight’s game in the spa town of Rajecke Teplice, around 15 kilometers from Zilina.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010/11
PLAY-OFFS, SECOND LEG
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25TH, 2010
MSK Zilina (Slovakia) vs. Sparta Praha (8:45pm Czech Time)
Venue: Stadion Pod Dubnom, Zilina, Slovakia (Capacity: 11,181)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT4
First Leg: 2-0

Predicted Sparta Starting Line-Up: Blazek — Adiaba, Kladrubsky, Hejda, Pamic — Hoheneder — Sionko, Kucka, Vachousek, Krejci — Wilfried

UEFA.com Coverage

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Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), UEFA.com

After a dismal start to the season, Teplice eased the pressure on coach Jiri Plisek yesterday (Monday), with a win over Slavia.

Teplice, who took just two points from their opening four games, came back from a Vlastimil Vidlicka own goal thanks to a goal from former Slavia player David Kalivoda and a penalty from veteran midfielder Pavel Verbir.

Teplice’s second win in two games means Slavia, after a promising start, have now lost two in a row.

GAMBRINUS LIGA 2010/11
SIXTH ROUND
MONDAY, AUGUST 23RD, 2010
Teplice 2, Slavia Praha 1
Half Time: 1-1
Goals: 37th Kalivoda, 68th Verbir (penalty) — 22nd Vidlicka (own goal)
Attendance: 7,515
Sam’s Prediction: Draw (Wrong)

Gambrinus Liga Highlights on iDnes.cz

GAMBRINUS LIGA STANDINGS
AFTER SIX OF 30 ROUNDS
1st Plzen, 16 points
2nd Olomouc, 14
3rd Mlada Boleslav, 10
4th Sparta Praha, 9
5th Ceske Budejovice, 8
6th Slavia Praha, 8
=7th Jablonec, 8
=7th Teplice, 8
9th Hradec Kralove, 8
10th Liberec, 7
11th Slovacko, 7
12th Bohemians 1905, 6
13th Pribram, 6
14th Ostrava, 5
15th Usti nad Labem, 5
16th Brno, 3

Gambrinus Liga Results & Fixtures

LEADING SCORERS
=1st Jan Rezek (Viktoria Plzen), 5 goals
=1st Michal Hubnik (Sigma Olomouc), 5
=3rd Bony Wilfried (Sparta Praha), 4
=3rd Karol Kisel (Slavia Praha), 4
=5th Tomas Pekhart (Baumit Jablonec), 3
=5th Pavel Horvath (Viktoria Plzen), 3
=5th Andrej Keric (Slovan Liberec), 3
=5th Petr Svancara (Slovacko), 3
=5th Pavel Sultes (Sigma Olomouc), 3
=5th Zdenek Ondrasek (Dynamo Ceske Budejovice), 3

MOST CLEAN SHEETS
=1st Pavel Kucera (Dynamo Ceske Budejovice), 3 games
=1st David Bicik (Slovan Liberec), 3
=1st Miroslav Miller (Mlada Boleslav), 3
=4th Michal Danek (Banik Ostrava), 2
=4th Jiri Lindr (Hradec Kralove), 2
=4th Martin Blaha (Sigma Olomouc), 2
=4th Ales Hruska (Pribram), 2
=4th Jaromir Blazek (Sparta Praha), 2

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Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), CMFS (Fotbal.cz)

Plzen stay top after beating reigning champions Sparta 1-0 in Prague thanks to a goal from midfielder Petr Jiracek.

Tomas Repka returned to the Sparta side following a three-game suspension for spitting at an opponent, despite being at the centre of a new scandal.

The 36-year-old defender was fined an undisclosed sum by his club following a report in the tabloid newspaper Aha! that he got drunk at the U Sevce Matouse pub/restaurant on Wednesday, three days before the Plzen game. (Aha! Story + Photos)

Second-placed Olomouc beat Brno 3-0 but will be without captain Radim Kucera for around six weeks after the veteran defender broke his calf bone.

Elsewhere, Slovacko defender Lukas Kuban was wrongly sent off for handling the ball on the goal line after assistant referee Martin Wilczek — who had been consulted by head referee Radek Matejek over the incident — confused Kuban with his team-mate Lukas Fujerik.

GAMBRINUS LIGA 2010/11
SIXTH ROUND
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 2010
Hradec Kralove 1, Baumit Jablonec 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goal: 22nd Pilar
Attendance: 5,950

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 2010
Slovan Liberec 0, Pribram 0
Attendance: 3,980

Slovacko 1, Usti nad Labem 1
Half Time: 0-0
Goals: 61st Svancara (penalty) — 69th Volek
Sent Off: 12th Kuban (Slovacko)
Attendance: 5,562

Sparta Praha 0, Viktoria Plzen 1
Half Time: 0-0
Goal: 60th Jiracek
Attendance: 7,943

SUNDAY, AUGUST 22ND, 2010
Sigma Olomouc 3, Zbrojovka Brno 0
Half Time: 0-0
Goals: 54th Hubnik, 55th Sultes, 83rd Melinho
Attendance: 7,310

Bohemians 1905 2, Dynamo Ceske Budejovice 2
Half Time: 0-2
Goals: 65th Moravec, 90th(+3) Kaufman — 19th Ondrasek, 27th Ondrasek
Attendance: 2,807

Mlada Boleslav 1, Banik Ostrava 0
Half Time: 1-0
Goal: 21st Rolko
Attendance: 4,685

Gambrinus Liga Video Highlights on iDnes.cz

MONDAY, AUGUST 23RD, 2010
Teplice vs. Slavia Praha (6pm)
Czech TV Coverage: Live on CT2
Sam’s Prediction: Draw

Online Coverage of all Gambrinus liga games: http://www.tipovani.cz/

GAMBRINUS LIGA STANDINGS
SUNDAY, AUGUST 22ND, 2010
1st Plzen, 6 games, 16 points
2nd Olomouc, 6 games, 14 points
3rd Mlada Boleslav, 6 games, 10 points
4th Sparta Praha, 6 games, 9 points
5th Ceske Budejovice, 6 games, 8 points
6th Slavia Praha, 5 games, 8 points
7th Jablonec, 6 games, 8 points
8th Hradec Kralove, 6 games, 8 points
9th Liberec, 6 games, 7 points
10th Slovacko, 6 games, 7 points
11th Bohemians 1905, 6 games, 6 points
12th Pribram, 6 games, 6 points
13th Teplice, 5 games, 5 points
14th Ostrava, 6 games, 5 points
15th Usti nad Labem, 6 games, 5 points
16th Brno, 6 games, 3 points

Gambrinus Liga Fixtures & Results

—
DRUHA LIGA (SECOND DIVISION) 2010/11
Tescoma Zlin maintained their 100-percent record, beating Zenit Caslav 1-0 on Saturday.

Varnsdorf have become the first Druha liga team to change coaches, appointing former Brno assistant coach Ales Krecek as a replacement for Zbynek Busta, who has stepped down for “family reasons”.

SECOND ROUND (RESCHEDULED)
TUESDAY, AUGUST 17TH, 2010
Vlasim 2, Most 0

FOURTH ROUND
FRIDAY, AUGUST 20TH, 2010
Dukla Praha 2, Trinec 0

Sezimovo Usti 2, Jihlava 0

SATURDAY, AUGUST 21ST, 2010
Sokolov 2, Sparta Praha B 2

Vlasim 4, Karvina 1

Zlin 1, Caslav 0

SUNDAY, AUGUST 22ND, 2010
Varnsdorf 3, Hlucin 2

Znojmo 0, Most 1

Kladno 1, Zizkov 3

SECOND ROUND (RESCHEDULED)
TUESDAY, AUGUST 24TH, 2010
Sezimovo Usti vs. Sparta Praha B (5pm)

DRUHA LIGA STANDINGS
MONDAY, AUGUST 23RD, 2010
1st Zlin 4 games, 12 points
2nd Dukla Praha, 4 games, 10 points
3rd Vlasim, 4 games, 10 points
4th Zizkov, 4 games, 9 points
5th Karvina, 4 games, 7 points
6th Sparta Praha B, 3 games, 7 points
7th Varnsdorf, 4 games, 6 points
8th Jihlava, 4 games, 6 points
9th Most, 4 games, 6 points
10th Sokolov, 4 games, 4 points
11th Trinec, 4 games, 4 points
12th Kladno, 4 games, 3 points
13th Caslav, 4 games, 3 points
14th Sezimovo Usti, 3 games, 3 points
15th Znojmo, 4 games, 0 points
16th Hlucin, 4 games, 0 points

Druha Liga Fixtures

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Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), CMFS (Fotbal.cz), Aha!

Sparta’s chances of reaching the Champions League’s group phase were dealt a severe blow last night (Tuesday) by Slovak champions MSK Zilina.

With Bony Wilfried, Marek Matejovsky and Libor Sionko all suspended and several players — including, unexpectedly, attacking midfielder/forward Vaclav Kadlec — out injured, Sparta failed to rise to the occasion and were well beaten.

Talking after the game, Sparta coach Jozef Chovanec said his team’s numerous errors had proved decisive and admitted that Zilina deserved their win, but pointed out that he was missing seven first-team regulars.

Adding to Chovanec’s woes, his team will be without central defenders Tomas Repka and Erich Brabec for next week’s second leg. Both players face automatic one-game suspensions after picking up their second yellow cards of the competition last night.

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 2010/11
PLAY-OFFS, FIRST LEG
TUESDAY, AUGUST 17TH, 2010
Sparta Praha 0, MSK Zilina (Slovakia) 2
Half Time: 0-0
Goals: 51st Ceesay, 73rd Oravec
Attendance: 18,000
Second Leg: Wednesday, August 25th in Zilina

Sparta Team: Blazek — Adiaba, Brabec, Repka, Pamic — Hoheneder — Zofcak (78th Zeman), Kucka, Vachousek (90th Jeslinek), Lacny (68th Tresnak) — Kweuke

UEFA.com Coverage

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Sources: Ceska televize (Teletext), CTK (SportovniNoviny.cz), UEFA.com