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Sporting Lisbon will host the mighty FC Barcelona in the second round of the Champions League Group D, both teams coming after wins in their opening matches.
Sporting is having a great start of the season, as the hosts are undefeated in 11 matches in all competitions. However, this stat doesn`t completely tell the story, as in Portugal Sporting had a super easy schedule and hasn`t met any of the good teams there. In the Champions League they defeated FCSB from Romania 5-1 in the playoffs and won 3-2 against Olympiakos in the first group game – their best result of the season, especially as it was achieved in Greece.
FC Barcelona has turned things around after losing the Spanish Supercup and selling Neymar early in the season. It looked like it could be a tough season for them after the 5-1 aggregate loss to Real in the Spanish Supercup, but Barca won all matches since then. The visitors are coming after 7 convincing wins, have already achieved a cushion at the top of La Liga and have scored 8 goals in their last two matches. Barca beat Juventus 3-0 in their previous Champions League match.
Bet on Sporting v Barcelona and claim your 100% (100 Eur) bonus at Ohmbet now!Team news & lineups:
Alan Ruis (doubful) is the only injury concern for Sporting, while Barcelona will miss Dembele and Rafinha.
Sporting: Rui Patricio – Piccini, Coates, Mathieu, Coentrao – Carvalho, Battaglia – Martins, Fernandes, Acuna – Dost
FC Barcelona: Ter Stegen – Semedo, Pique, Umtiti, Alba – Paulinho, Busquets, Iniesta – Deulofeu, Messi, Suarez
Sporting is in good form and is a very well coached team, but Barcelona is a huge step up compared to anyone they faced this season. It might also be an unfavorable matchup for the hosts.
Sporting’s defense is not very good, something which was visible a few times this season, including in their 3-2 victory in Greece against Olympiakos. The hosts are not a team which can successfully park the bus against Barcelona, so they pretty much have to bear Barca with their own weapons – something which is almost impossible to do. This matchup might be the X factor in this match.
It`s also questionable how much home court advantage will help Sporting, as they have been much better on the road this season. They struggled in each and every one of their home games despite facing only poor level of opposition.
Barca should have more spaces than usual here, and I reckon they will be able to exploit them considering their good form and Messi playing at a very high level. Sporting doesn`t seem to have the quality or the style to trouble the Catalans, my analysis says an upset is unlikely, so obviously my recommendation is to place your bets on the visitors in this clash.
My tip is Barcelona to win with a -1 asian handicap. Prediction: Sporting Lisbon – Barcelona 0-3.
Pick: Barcelona (-1 Asian Handicap)
Odds: 1.67 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 5.36
Event date: 27 September
