Sporting’s title hopes were all but ended on Friday night, following a 2-1 defeat by Porto in the Primeira Liga. That has opened up an eight point gap between the pair, and it has left the Lions with a chance of missing out on the Champions League. While Sporting have the League Cup won already, they risk fizzling out in the closing stages of the season. If they’re to add more silverware and secure a place in Europe’s main competition, they’ll need to hit form in the Europa League.
Sporting return to European action on Thursday, hosting Plzen in Lisbon. While the visitors are leading the way domestically, this game could be a step too far for the Czech outfit. Sporting have impressed in Europe this season, as they pushed Juventus for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League. They were also a challenge for Barcelona at this ground, while they hit three goals home and away to Olympiakos to easily wrap up third.
With their league campaign faltering, we see Sporting making a tilt for this competition. Their high scoring nature in Europe is likely to lead to an entertaining first leg here, especially after sharing 10 goals with Astana in the last round. After those two high scoring legs, Sporting have now seen over 2.5 goals in seven of their last eight matches in this competition.
Meanwhile, Plzen have scored in their last seven Europa League matches, while they’ve already conceded three goals in two separate away trips this season. We fully expect this game to be another high scoring affair, while Sporting should live up to their favourites tag, having won 11 of their last 12 home matches. We’re going with Sporting and over 2.5 goals here, which looks like the best bet on this one given the form this pair are in ahead of this clash.
Midfielder Bruno Fernandes has enjoyed a brilliant season since making the switch from Sampdoria to Sporting. While he’s missing out on a brilliant campaign with his former side in Serie A, the Portuguese international is thriving in Lisbon. While his eight league goals all came earlier on in the season, he picked up his form in Europe with three strikes across two meetings with Astana. Fernandes struck against Olympiakos in the Champions League, and we think he can make an impact in this game. We think the attack-minded midfielder is well priced for a goal here, so we’ve gone with him as an anytime scorer.
Sporting’s title hopes were all but ended on Friday night, following a 2-1 defeat by Porto in the Primeira Liga. That has opened up an eight point gap between the pair, and it has left the Lions with a chance of missing out on the Champions League. While Sporting have the League Cup won already, they risk fizzling out in the closing stages of the season. If they’re to add more silverware and secure a place in Europe’s main competition, they’ll need to hit form in the Europa League.
Sporting return to European action on Thursday, hosting Plzen in Lisbon. While the visitors are leading the way domestically, this game could be a step too far for the Czech outfit. Sporting have impressed in Europe this season, as they pushed Juventus for a place in the last 16 of the Champions League. They were also a challenge for Barcelona at this ground, while they hit three goals home and away to Olympiakos to easily wrap up third.
With their league campaign faltering, we see Sporting making a tilt for this competition. Their high scoring nature in Europe is likely to lead to an entertaining first leg here, especially after sharing 10 goals with Astana in the last round. After those two high scoring legs, Sporting have now seen over 2.5 goals in seven of their last eight matches in this competition.
Meanwhile, Plzen have scored in their last seven Europa League matches, while they’ve already conceded three goals in two separate away trips this season. We fully expect this game to be another high scoring affair, while Sporting should live up to their favourites tag, having won 11 of their last 12 home matches. We’re going with Sporting and over 2.5 goals here, which looks like the best bet on this one given the form this pair are in ahead of this clash.
Midfielder Bruno Fernandes has enjoyed a brilliant season since making the switch from Sampdoria to Sporting. While he’s missing out on a brilliant campaign with his former side in Serie A, the Portuguese international is thriving in Lisbon. While his eight league goals all came earlier on in the season, he picked up his form in Europe with three strikes across two meetings with Astana. Fernandes struck against Olympiakos in the Champions League, and we think he can make an impact in this game. We think the attack-minded midfielder is well priced for a goal here, so we’ve gone with him as an anytime scorer.