Ararat-Armenia vs 16.09.26 16:451 – 4Full Time
Sparta Praha — UEFA Europa League: stats, lineups & analysis
Match report
Sparta Praha overwhelm Ararat-Armenia in Europa League opener
Sparta Praha beat Ararat-Armenia 4-1 at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in the opening round of the UEFA Europa League league stage. Tobias Guddal struck twice inside three minutes either side of the twentieth to put the visitors firmly in control, and Sparta went into the break 2-0 up.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data.
John Mercado extended the advantage early in the second half, assisted by Josimar Alcócer, before Bruno Wilson pulled one back for Ararat-Armenia with Sandro Lima teeing him up. Sparta had the final word when Patrik Vydra, set up by Matěj Jurásek, made it 4-1 in the 71st minute to settle the contest.
Sparta dominated territory and chances throughout, finishing with 58 percent possession and 23 shots to their hosts' 13, eight of which were on target compared to just two for Ararat-Armenia. The visitors' control was also reflected in the corner count, with Sparta winning 13 to Ararat-Armenia's two.
Tobias Guddal scored twice and earned the highest rating on the pitch at 8.5, having opened the scoring and doubled it within the space of two minutes in the first half.
Sparta's dominance was underlined by a 58 percent share of possession against Ararat-Armenia's 42 percent.
Sparta Praha won 4–1 away against Ararat-Armenia (half-time 0–2).
Ararat-Armenia met Sparta Praha in the UEFA Europa League (League Stage - 1). Kick-off was Wednesday, 16 September 2026, 16:45 UTC at Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium. Referee: Mohammed Al-Hakim.
Team pages: Ararat-Armenia · Sparta Praha · UEFA Europa League
Key moments
- 20' Goal: Tobias Guddal (assist: Adam Karabec) — 0–1 · Watch Tobias Guddal's goal video (20')
- 22' Goal: Tobias Guddal — 0–2 · Watch Tobias Guddal's goal video (22')
- 53' Goal: John Mercado (assist: Josimar Alcócer) — 0–3 · Watch John Mercado's goal video (53')
- 55' Goal: Bruno Wilson (assist: Sandro Lima) — 1–3 · Watch Bruno Wilson's goal video (55')
- 71' Goal: Patrik Vydra (assist: Matěj Jurásek) — 1–4 · Watch Patrik Vydra's goal video (71')
Starting line-ups
Ararat-Armenia (4-3-3)
- 98 João Bravim
- 16 Edgar Grigoryan
- 47 Alexandros Malis
- 43 Bruno Wilson
- 3 José Julio
- 70 Benny
- 19 Karen Muradyan (c)
- 2 Hugo Oliveira
- 11 Zidane Banjaqui
- 91 Sandro Lima
- 77 Artur Serobyan
Sparta Praha (4-3-3)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Ararat-Armenia 26%, the draw 21%, Sparta Praha 53%. It finished Ararat-Armenia 1–4 Sparta Praha.
Sparta Praha's rating gap outweighs Ararat-Armenia's home ground — Sparta Praha are clearly the stronger side on our strength rating, and that is most of Sparta Praha's 53%. The draw at 21% is trimmed by a league that produces few draws.
Why Sparta Praha at 53%?
Sparta Praha sit 303 points higher on our strength rating — 1387 to 1690. Sides with a more than 300-point rating edge on the road won 65.9% of 5,257 such games. The 300 most similar past games finished 26–24–50.
Why only 53%?
UEFA Europa League home sides out-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to draws (22.8% vs 24.9% norm). UEFA Europa League homes won 47.6% of 4,438 games vs 44.9% across all 100,233 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly.
Why is the draw only 21%?
With a rating gap this size the draw starts at 22.5%. These teams' recent games average 2.7 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 26.2% of 27,835. UEFA Europa League produces fewer draws than most, taking 2.1 points off. The goals environment adds 1.1 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Sparta Praha average 6 points more possession, but the rating gap here is 303 points. Our control receipt only exists between near-equals — there it moved results; across a class gap we could not measure a separate style edge, so style scores 0 here.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Ararat-Armenia vs Sparta Praha final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this UEFA Europa League fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Tobias Guddal's goal against Ararat-Armenia (20').
- Watch Tobias Guddal's goal against Ararat-Armenia (22').
- Watch John Mercado's goal against Ararat-Armenia (53').
- Watch Bruno Wilson's goal against Sparta Praha (55').
- Watch Patrik Vydra's goal against Ararat-Armenia (71').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Ararat-Armenia 1–4 Sparta Praha. Explore more on the Ararat-Armenia and Sparta Praha team pages or the UEFA Europa League page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Ararat-Armenia vs Sparta Praha?
Sparta Praha won 4–1 away against Ararat-Armenia (half-time 0–2).
›Who scored in Ararat-Armenia vs Sparta Praha?
Tobias Guddal (20') for Sparta Praha; Tobias Guddal (22') for Sparta Praha; John Mercado (53') for Sparta Praha; Bruno Wilson (55') for Ararat-Armenia; Patrik Vydra (71') for Sparta Praha.
›Where can I watch Ararat-Armenia vs Sparta Praha highlights?
Goal highlights and video clips from Ararat-Armenia 1–4 Sparta Praha are on this page — open the videos tab to watch every goal.
›What is the head-to-head record between Ararat-Armenia and Sparta Praha?
Ararat-Armenia and Sparta Praha have met 2 times — 0 wins for Ararat-Armenia, 2 wins for Sparta Praha and 0 draws.