Villarreal will attempt to make the semi-finals of the Europa League for the first time since 2011 when they travel to Sparta Prague for the second leg of their quarter-final on Thursday night.
A brace from Cedric Bakambu saw the Spanish side record a 2-1 victory in the first leg last week, but they will face a Sparta team that are unbeaten in all six of their European home games this season.
Sparta Prague
In truth, Sparta were extremely fortunate to escape with just a 2-1 defeat in the first leg last week. Villarreal perhaps should have wrapped up the tie on home soil, but Jakub Brabec's away goal has given the Czech side a chance of making the semi-finals.
This season is actually the first time that Sparta have made the quarter-finals of this competition since the 1983-84 campaign, which remains their best ever showing in this particular tournament.
The Reds secured their passage into the knockout round by finishing second in Group K, collecting 12 points from their six matches and remaining unbeaten in the process. They overcame Krasnador 4-0 on aggregate in the round of 32, before impressively dumping Italian side Lazio out of the competition in the last 16.
Incredibly, the 2-1 defeat at Villarreal last week was Sparta's first Europa League loss in 13 matches, which is a run of form that stretched back to December 2014, when they were beaten 2-1 at Young Boys in the group stages.
As mentioned, Sparta are actually unbeaten in all six of their European home games this season and they have conceded just three times in the Czech Republic. What's more, they have scored at least once in all 15 European matches this term.
The hosts will also enter the match off the back of a 2-1 victory over Pribram in the Czech Liga table at the weekend, which has left Zdenek Scasny's team in second position in their domestic division - seven points clear of third with a game in hand.
Recent form: WWWDWL
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLLW
Villarreal
Sparta are in the quarter-finals of this competition for the first time since the 1983-84 season, but Villarreal made the semi-finals as recently as 2011, when they lost to the eventual winners Porto. The Yellow Submarine also made the final four in 2004, but once again lost to the team that went on to claim the trophy, which on that occasion was Valencia.
Villarreal's first-leg victory means that Marcelino's side are now unbeaten in their last 10 Europa League fixtures - recording seven wins in the process. Impressively, only Borussia Dortmund, who face Liverpool on Thursday, have won as many games as Villarreal since the start of this season's group stage.
Like Sparta, Villarreal also finished second in their group to make the round of 32. A total of 13 points saw them finish as runners-up to Rapid Vienna in Group E, before the Spanish outfit overcame a strong Napoli side 2-1 on aggregate in the round of 32.
Another tough draw arrived in the last 16 as Villarreal took on Bayer Leverkusen, but a 2-0 aggregate victory ensured that the La Liga club would make the quarter-finals once again. With all respect to Sparta, Villarreal would have been pleased to avoid the likes of Dortmund and Liverpool in the quarter-finals and will fancy their chances of finishing the job in the return match.
In all competitions, Villarreal are currently on a five-game unbeaten run, which included a 2-0 victory over Getafe in La Liga at the weekend. That result has seen Marcelino's side open up a eight-point lead over fifth-placed Celta Vigo and they are the strong favourites to claim fourth position in Spain's top flight this season.
A return to Champions League football and a Europa League trophy would be seen as a fine campaign for Villarreal, but they have only won one of their last nine games on the road in all competitions and will need to be wary of a Sparta team that have shown their strength on home soil this term.
Recent form: DWDWDW
Recent form (all competitions): LDDWWW
Team News
Sparta will be without the services of their goalscorer from the first leg - Brabec - after the centre-back picked up a booking and subsequent suspension last week. Costa Nhamoinesu is also still suspended, leaving head coach Scasny with problems at the back.
Radoslav Kovac should return to the team in central defence, however, while Lukas Julis and Ladislav Krejci are expected to continue as the two strikers in a 3-5-2 formation.
As for Villarreal, head coach Marcelino is expected to keep faith with the same team that won in Spain last week.
Bakambu's brace last time out took his Europa League tally for the campaign to seven goals and the in-form centre-forward should once again be joined by Roberto Soldado in the final third.
Mateo Musacchio remains on the sidelines, leaving Eric Bailly and Victor Ruiz as the two first-choice centre-backs.
Sparta possible starting lineup:
Bicik; Holek, Kovac, Zahustel; Konate, Marecek, Matejovsky, Dockal, Frydek; Julis, Krejci
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Asensio; Mario, Bailly, Ruiz, Costa; Castillejo, Bruno, Trigueros, Suarez; Bakambu, Soldado
Head To Head
Last week's clash at El Madrigal was the first time that these two teams had ever met in a competitive match.
Sparta have faced Spanish opposition on 18 occasions, however, recording five wins and suffering 11 defeats.
Villarreal, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their six encounters with Czech teams - winning four times. In the group stages, the Spanish giants came head to head with Sparta's domestic rivals Viktoria Plzen and managed a 3-3 draw in the away match.
We say: Sparta 1-1 Villarreal
Sparta will be a tough nut to crack on home soil, but Villarreal will enter with a one-goal advantage and expecting to continue their impressive run of form. It might well be a tense and tight affair for long spells, but we believe that Villarreal will have enough to secure a draw and advance to the semi-finals once again.
