Football: Sparta Prague face Palermo in Europa League

The Czech title holders Sparta Prague will face Italy’s Palermo in the first game of Europa League’s Group F in the Czech capital on Thursday. Sparta, which only won 1:0 in the latest round of the top Czech division on Saturday, will miss three key players in the midfield due to red and yellow cards. In the UEFA Cup three years ago, the Italians were knocked out by another Czech club, Mladá Boleslav.