**Sparta Prague are cooking right now** — four wins in five and absolutely no chill in attack. Pardubice have their own momentum, but walking into the EPET ARENA against the league's hottest team is a tough ask. 🔥

Sparta just dismantled Olomouc 3-0 away and schooled Jihlava 5-3 at home; they're clearly in that zone where everything clicks. Pardubice aren't pushovers—three wins in five themselves—but they're rolling into this without **Traore** (suspension) and a couple other bodies missing, which hurts rotation depth.

Key storylines:

- **Brunes and Jurásek** leading Sparta's relentless attacking press will be the nightmare matchup for Pardubice's back three
- **Drchal** up front for Pardubice needs support from **Tanko and Botos** to create any real danger on the counter
- Sparta's wing play through **Mercado and Vydra** should dominate the flanks without Hoever complicating things

Expected lineups:

- **AC Sparta Praha**: Surovčík, Ryneš, Guddal, Mbe Soh, Suchomel, Macek, Vydra, Alcócer, Mercado, Jurásek, Brunes
- **FK Pardubice**: Šerák, Godwin, Krčík, Halinský, Tredl, Icha, Hlavatý, Botos, Tanko, Smékal, Drchal

Prediction:

**Sparta 3–0 Pardubice**. The hosts have all the momentum and firepower; Pardubice are undermanned and walking into a buzzsaw.