Lille had to negotiate a couple of tough qualifiers to reach the Champions League and the French side have another daunting task for their opener on the road at Sporting Lisbon.
The Portuguese giants have made a storming start to their domestic campaign, winning five in a row and scoring 19 times in the process. One of those wins came at home to title rivals Porto so Sporting will be confident of getting their European campaign off to a flier.
Sporting missed out on a seat at Europe's top table last term but did well in the Europa League, reaching the last 16 before bowing out to eventual winners Atalanta.
Now they will be looking to qualify for the knockout stages of the revamped Champions League but Lille present a potential banana skin on day one.
The French side defeated Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce and Slavia Prague in the qualifiers but head to Portugal off the back of domestic defeats to PSG and St Etienne.
How the bookies view it: Sporting backed for home comforts
Sporting Lisbon's superb form domestically has them installed as Betfred's 8/11 hot favourites for a win in their European opener. Lille are 18/5 outsiders and the draw pays 11/4.
Head to head: Lille out for revenge
These sides have faced off just once before and it came in the Europa League 14 years ago. Sporting Lisbon won both those games, triumphing 1-0 at home after a 2-1 victory in France.
Players to watch: To Viktor the spoils
Former Coventry striker Viktor Gyokeres has made an incredible start to his Sporting career, netting eight goals in his first five outings. He looks their best bet for a goal once they anytime scorer market is priced up.
Midfielder Edon Zhegrova has been a big goal threat for Lille so far this term, netting four times in six outings. He should be decent odds for another strike in Portugal.
Probable line-ups
First-choice Sporting keeper Vladan Kovacevic is a doubt with an ankle injury so Franco Israel could deputise again. Jonathan David started on the bench for Lille against St Etienne after returning from international duty but should start here.
Sporting Lisbon: Israel, Inacio, Diomande, Quaresma, Catamo, Yulmann, Morita, Cuenda, Pote, Trincao, Gyokeres.
Lille: Chevalier, Diakite, Menye, Meunier, Gomes, Andre, Santos, Gudmundsson, Cabella, Zhegrova, David.
Anything else catch the eye?
Although the bookies make Sporting Lisbon heavy favourites, I don't think there's too much between these sides in terms of quality. That makes the half-time draw worth a look at 5/4 with Betfred while BTTS pays 8/11.
Both sides have been scoring pretty freely and I like the 8/5 available for the Portuguese side to net in both halves. That bet has landed in four of their five matches so far this season.
Opening fixtures can often take a bit of time to get going as the teams size each other up and play safe to avoid conceding first. That makes betting on most goals coming in the second half another good option for this game and the bet pays 21/20 with Betfred.
This UEFA Champions League match between Sporting Lisbon and Lille will be played on Sep 17, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Sporting Lisbon vs Lille prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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