Ararat-Armenia vs Sparta Praha — Tips & Analysis

Ararat-Armenia +1: Sparta come to Yerevan with eight players unavailable, seven injured and one suspended, and that is the main reason we are with the home side. Ararat-Armenia have made this ground a hard trip. They have won 8 of their last 10 home games and let in less than a goal a game there. They beat Celje 2-1 and Universitatea Craiova 1-0 in Yerevan this summer. Across their last 18 games they have won 11, tied 2 and lost 5, and they have lost by 2 or more goals just twice in that run. Sparta are the better team on paper. They score almost 2 goals a game and have won 9 of their last 15. Their away form is all over the place though. They won 4-0 at Artis but lost 0-3 at Lyon, 0-2 at Mlada Boleslav and 1-2 at Hradec Kralove. They also play this four days after a league game, at the end of a long trip east. A 1-1 is the likeliest score here, and that is exactly the kind of night we want. The danger is recent history. Sparta beat Ararat-Armenia twice last year, 2-1 and 4-1, and those two games averaged 4 goals. Sparta have also won by 2 or more goals in 7 of their last 15 games. We still expect Ararat-Armenia to keep this close.