FCSB's first-leg showing demonstrated that the Romanians can be a tough nut to crack, but with Dawa banned and fresh injury concerns in attack, the hosts will struggle to replicate their first-leg display.
Coming up against foes who have not suffered a competitive defeat in almost five months, Charalampous's side should fall short on home soil, as Sparta Prague edge closer to the coveted league phase.
Read more.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a FCSB win with a probability of 48.1%. A win for Sparta Prague had a probability of 27.6% and a draw had a probability of 24.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a FCSB win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.58%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.47%) and 2-0 (7.92%). The likeliest Sparta Prague win was 0-1 (6.92%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.44%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted that Sparta Prague would win this match.