Sporting CP look to continue their excellent start to the UEFA Champions League (UCL) campaign against a LASK side who are struggling at the wrong end of the table.
Match News and Current Form
Sporting’s 2-0 victory away to Lens on matchday two last week means they are attempting to win their opening three games in this competition for just the second time. That result was followed by a weekend off, so the Lions should be well rested as they look to extend their unbeaten start to the season across all competitions (W7, D3), with Rui Borges’ side netting 25 goals across those ten games. Estádio José Alvalade has also been a happy hunting ground for Sporting, who last lost there in April (W6, D2), while their last seven UCL home games (W6, L1) have delivered as many wins as their previous 17 (W6, D2, L9)!
LASK hammered Austria Lustenau 4-0 on Saturday to finally end a miserable run of five games without a win (D1, L4). That sequence includes a pair of defeats in this competition, going down 1-0 to AEK Athens on matchday one before being thrashed 6-3 by Liverpool last week. Such form suggests the Black and Whites are struggling to get to grips with their first UCL league phase campaign, and a streak of nine successive away defeats in European football which features seven failures to score inspires little confidence of a revival here.
Head-to-Head History
The five previous meetings between these sides have seen both teams register two wins (D1). All five matches featured over 2.5 goals.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Sporting have scored in each of their last 20 group/league phase games.
Sporting have committed 10+ fouls in nine of their ten fixtures in this term.
Ten of LASK’s last 12 matches produced over 2.5 goals.
LASK have attempted over 10.5 shots in each of their four UCL matches this season.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Two of Flávio Gonçalves’ three goals since joining Sporting have served as the match opener, while all three ended in victories. Yvan Dibango assisted each of LASK’s three strikes against Liverpool, and his other three assists this term all came in away wins by a 4+ goal margin.
Zeno Debast and Rodrigo Zalazar were missing for Sporting last week, while Moses Usor is a doubt for LASK.
For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.
Betting Analysis
Austrian sides have lost 19 of their last 23 matches in this competition, and the hosts’ stellar form makes a Sporting to win and over 2.5 goals combination look tempting.
Author: Matt Jones