FC Midtjylland host Sporting CP in the second leg of their Europa League knockout playoff with neither side holding a significant advantage. While Midtjylland have shown some good form lately, Sporting remain the favourites and will be relying on their experience and superior quality to give them the upper hand.
FC Midtjylland will be pleased with the result from the first meeting as they earned a 1-1 draw in Portugal. While it was a generally low-quality game, Emam Ashour gave them the lead midway through the second half and they looked to be headed for a famous win before Sporting CP grabbed a late equaliser.
The result means Midtjylland are now unbeaten in their last eight matches across all competitions, although there have been three 0-0 draws in that run. Albert Capellas’ men warmed up for the visit of Sporting with a 4-0 victory at Viborg in a domestic fixture on Monday.
Midtjylland will be relying on their solid home record having lost just once in their last nine matches at the MCH Arena. However, their overall record in the Europa League has not been too convincing with just one win in their last five matches in the competition.
Sporting CP were lucky to have earned that draw in the first meeting as they were forced to leave it late. They had only two attempts on target one of which was Sebastian Coates’ equaliser deep into injury time.
While it was a disappointing performance in the first leg, Sporting CP know they can play better and will be keen to set things right on Thursday. They are unbeaten in four of their last five matches and claimed a 3-2 victory at Chaves in a Primeira Liga fixture on Monday.
The result at Chaves highlights a solid record for Sporting CP on their recent travels. Ruben Amorim’s men have now won their last three away matches across all competitions, scoring six goals in that run.
How the bookies view it
The bookies still have Sporting CP as overwhelming favourites with a win priced at 7/8 with SBK. Midtjylland are outsiders at home at 7/2 with bet365 while 10bet is offering odds of 14/5 for another draw.
Head to head
Prior to last week’s first leg, there had only been two previous meetings between Midtjylland and Sporting CP. The Portuguese giants did the double over the Danes during the group stage of the 2001-02 Europa League.
Players to watch
Gustav Isaksen had a quiet outing in the first leg but often features in attack for Midtjylland and js their leading scorer this season with 11 goals across all competitions. The forward is coming off a hat-trick in the win over Viborg and is priced at 9/2 with William Hill.
After a short dry spell, Pedro Gonçalves is back among the goals with his brace at Chaves and will be worth keeping an eye on for Sporting CP. The attacker is their leading scorer with 14 goals across all competitions and is priced at 85/40 by BetVictor to find the net on Thursday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Midtjylland and Sporting CP boast plenty of attacking quality and with both teams on target in the first meeting, a similar outcome can be considered at 11/13 with SBK. Both teams saw over 3.5 goals in their respective Monday night fixtures and could be set for a repeat at 5/2 with BetVictor while bet365 is offering 10/11 for over 2.5 goals.
The goals in the first meeting were scored after the break and both teams could be backed to score in the second half at 12/5 with bet365. The second half could also be tipped to produce the most goals at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This UEFA Europa League match between FC Midtjylland and Sporting CP will be played on Feb 23, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best FC Midtjylland vs Sporting CP prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
