Sporting CP will be looking to put their recent domestic inconsistency behind them as they host Midtjylland in the first leg of their Europa League knockout playoff. The Portuguese side will be relying on their home record and should have the edge over Midtjylland.
Sporting will be disappointed with the way their Champions League campaign turned out given how they started. They began with two straight wins but suffered three defeats in their final four group matches to finish third and drop into the Europa League.
The Portuguese giants will now attempt to move on from all of that and try to make their mark in the Europa League. Ruben Amorim’s men have shown some good form in the build-up to Thursday’s clash, winning four of their last six matches, although they were beaten 2-1 by Porto in a Primeira Liga fixture last Sunday.
Despite the defeat to Porto, Sporting CP will head into Thursday’s clash with plenty of confidence given their recent record at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. They have won seven of their last 10 home matches across all competitions.
Midtjylland will consider themselves unlucky to only be in the playoffs after finishing third in a group where everyone had eight points. They claimed two wins and two draws from their six group stage matches.
The Danish side have not been at their best lately and travel to Lisbon with just two normal time wins in the last nine matches across all competitions. They played out a 1-1 draw with Elfsborg in a domestic Cup fixture last weekend before going on to win on penalties.
One of the problems for Midtjylland is that they often find things difficult on their travels. Albert Capellas’ men are currently on a five-match winless run on the road and have failed to score in the last two fixtures.
How the bookies view it
Sporting CP have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 4/11 by bet365. A victory for Midtjylland is valued at 17/2 by Betfred while a draw is set at odds of 4/1 by Paddy Power.
Head to head
Sporting CP and Midtjylland met twice during the group stage of the 2001-02 Europa League. The Portuguese side did the double over their rivals with the clash in Lisbon ending in a 3-0 victory.
Players to watch
Fernandes Paulinho could be worth keeping an eye on for Sporting CP having found the net seven times in his last nine matches across all competitions. Bet365 is offering evens on the forward to score anytime on Thursday.
Sporting CP have kept clean sheets in two of their last three matches and will be targeting a similar outcome on Thursday. Sebastian Coates and Goncalo Inacio often feature at centre-back and can lead them to another clean sheet at 21/20 with Coral.
Anything else catch the eye?
Sporting CP have won to nil in two of their last three matches and could be set for a similar outcome at 5/4 with bet365. Thursday’s clash is also expected to be a one-sided contest which means Sporting can be backed in the -1 handicap market at 10/11 with Unibet.
With Sporting CP expected to be dominant, they could be backed to score in both halves at 21/20 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Europa League match between Sporting CP and FC Midtjylland will be played on Feb 16, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sporting CP vs FC Midtjylland prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
