Tottenham – Sporting CP : Preview & Prediction
Tottenham’s Premier League (PL) title assault is faltering after seeing their perfect home run in all competitions (G7, P1) come to an end following a 2-1 defeat to a high-flying Newcastle United side. The last thing Antonio Conte needs is for the tight schedule to throw more pressure on him ahead of another UEFA Champions League (UCL) Group D match.
Conte found himself begging for reinforcements to arrive in the upcoming winter transfer window, as injuries to key players such as Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison have left the team lame and short of resources for so many important fixtures. Now that their London fortress has fallen, anything can happen, although the team has avoided three official defeats in a row over the last 18 months, so that consistency could return to celebrate their 50th UCL match (counting only group stage games onwards).
Sporting Lisbon also overcame their particular double of defeats to return to the top four of the Portuguese Primeira Liga. A repeat of their 2-0 win over Tottenham would be a coup for Rúben Amorim, a candidate to replace Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa.
Group D is very evenly matched, as expected, and while no team is eliminated, Sporting will follow Marseille if they finish level, so they would need to take points from this game to have a better chance of progressing to the next round. They already pulled off a shocker by winning 3-0 at home to Frankfurt in the opening round as underdogs, although this one promises to be tougher, as Sporting have never won in England (E3, P5).
Players to watch: Spurs’ big scorer Harry Kane has failed to score in three of four group stage games, and most of his goals have come in England. Francisco Trincão has scored in both of Sporting’s away games in this group stage and faces the challenge of repeating that feat on English soil.
Weekend stat: All but one of Sporting’s 14 away matches ended in a win (G8, P5).
Tottenham – Sporting CP : Betting Tips
Tottenham – Win Odds: 2.25
