Athletic - Sporting: betting tip (cf 3.95) and bets on the Champions League match

Current form

Athletic was approaching the start of the Champions League as a clear contender for a place in the playoffs - the selection of players and the status of the fourth team in the Spanish Primera last season obliged the Basques to set themselves such tasks. However, in the first two rounds, Ernesto Valverde's team lost without a chance to Arsenal (0:2) and Borussia Dortmund (1:4), which significantly worsened their situation.

As a result, Athletic got their first victory only in the third round, beating Qarabag 3-1, but they failed to build on their success and scored only two points in the next three league stage matches. In the last round, the red-whites only needed a 3-2 victory over Atalanta, which they sensationally managed to achieve. Athletic are now 23rd in the table and victory in today's match guarantees the playoffs.

At the same time, Athletic is frankly failing in the Spanish championship season – initially, the red and white were considered clear contenders for a place in the top four, but they regularly lost points from the start. As a result, the Basques now occupy only 12th place in the table with 24 points in the asset and are only three points away from the relegation zone, Betis Athletic is eight points behind sixth.

Disqualifications and injuries

Jauregisar was disqualified. Egoulis, Izeta, Laporte, Sannadi and I. Williams are injured.

Interesting betting trends

• Athletic have not lost in their last three Champions League home matches, with one win and two draws.
• Athletic have scored in the last four matches.
• Athletic have conceded in the last seven matches.

Approximate line–up: Simon – Areso, Paredes, Vivian, Boiro – Vesga, Galareta – Navarro, Sunset, N. Williams - Berenger.

Current form

Sporting also approached the start of the Champions League as a clear contender for a place in the playoffs and was quite capable of solving this task, having a very high-quality selection of players. The lions started with a crushing 4-1 victory over Kairat at home, without experiencing any problems, but in the first match with a higher-status opponent they lost, losing 1-2 away to Napoli.

Overall, Sporting was more than confident in the tournament distance and claimed a place in the top eight, but the 1-3 defeat by Bayern in the sixth round made the task more difficult. A week ago, Ruy Borges' team hosted PSG and it was the Parisians who were considered the favorites of the match, but the lions scored a 2-1 victory and ended up on the 10th line in the table, the Portuguese champion is lagging behind eighth Chelsea only due to additional indicators.

In the Portuguese championship, Sporting was considered the main contender for the championship title before the start of the season, but Porto at the start of the season, and in the first round as a whole, showed wonders of stability and pulled ahead. At the moment, the lions occupy the second place in the table with 48 points in the asset and are four points behind the leader Porto, who still has a match in reserve.

Disqualifications and injuries

Ioannidis, Quaresma, Cuenda and Santos are injured.

Interesting betting trends

• Sporting has suffered only one defeat in seven rounds of the Champions League.
• In the last two away matches, Sporting lost to Athletics.
• Sporting have scored in all seven Champions League matches.

Approximate line–up: Ruy Silva – Fresneda, Inacio, Reis, Mangas – Simones, Morita – Catamo, Trincan, Araujo - Suarez.