Olympique Lyonnais will take on Sparta Prague in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round on Tuesday evening. The Rhône-Alpes club travels to the epet ARENA for a high-stakes clash that could shape their European trajectory for the 2026-2027 season.
The Czech side, fresh off a fourth-place finish in the domestic league, enters the match with a mixed recent European record. While they reached the group stage in 2024, their 2025-26 campaign ended in the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16. For either team, failure to progress beyond this stage would mean a fallback to the UEFA Europa League, adding pressure to secure a positive result in Prague.
Lyon, meanwhile, will be relying on their attacking prowess, particularly from new signing Loïs Openda, who has already netted seven goals in the Champions League this season. The Belgian forward, arriving on a season-long loan from Juventus, leads a formidable attack that will need to break down a Sparta Prague defense that has shown resilience in past encounters.
Historical meetings between the two clubs heavily favor the French side. Olympique Lyonnais has dominated past meetings, including a 5-0 thrashing in Lyon’s 2005 Champions League group stage and a 3-0 victory in the 2021 Europa League qualifier. The only non-loss for Sparta Prague came in a 1-1 draw in 2012. Overall, Lyon boasts eight wins, two draws, and just two losses against Czech opponents, while Sparta Prague has managed only two victories, three draws, and eleven defeats against French clubs.
How to watch the Sparta Prague vs Olympique Lyonnais match
The third qualifying round first leg kicks off at 20:00 CET on Tuesday, August 4, live from the epet ARENA. French viewers can tune in to Canal+ for comprehensive coverage, or follow the action via live commentary on sports.orange.fr.