Midtjylland v Sporting Lisbon – Betting Preview
Midtjylland Summary
FC Midtjylland is currently sitting in 4th place in their domestic league and won just one of their last five league games.
They got an extremely credible draw in the away leg and so the tie is in the balance, and fair to say the Danes have great hope of causing a shock against Sporting in this knockout stage.
Midtjylland is determined to improve the league form but this Europa League tie has become a big distraction and will see them highly motivated to play their best and try to progress.
the mood is positive in the camp. To their real credit, they were left frustrated after their 1-1 draw in Lisbon as the side succumbed to a 94th-minute leveler, having initially been all but written off with the draw made.
Midtjylland have struggled in knockout ties but they expect extremely strong home support to give them the best possible chance of winning against the Portuguese and progressing to the next stage.
Sporting Summary
The away team here has a much stronger European pedigree but that meant little in the first leg. It was a match where they had to dig extremely deep to avoid a shock and slightly embarrassing loss to the Danish side Midtjylland.
Sporting Lisbon does respect the opponent but going into the tie as favorites as they did, it was a humble piece of pie being almost caught off guard in the first leg which ended up 1-1, thanks only to their added time equaliser.
Sporting’s domestic form is improving but they are well off the pace to achieve their objectives that would have been set out in August.
They have won four from their last five games and mustered an away win on Monday against Chaves to keep pace with Braga, who are a significant 8 points ahead of them in 3rd place.
they are realistically out of reach in the Primeira Liga and worse still for the club, the Champions League spots also are already looking way off in the distance.
It could have been even uglier had they lost the first leg in front of their support. Thanks to Sebastián Coates’ last-gasp goal, however, they travel to northern Europe braced for a real battle to progress. If they don’t reach the next round then it’s a massive setback.
Betting Analysis
Looking at the 1×2 market first. Sporting is the clear favourite @ 1.83. The visitor was the big jolly before the tie began, but the Danes showed they are no pushover since then and look a little under value now. They are @ 4.25 to win this and progress. The draw would take it into extra time and perhaps penalties, that is @ 3.85.
Moving onto the Asian handicap betting for this contest. Midtjylland gets a +0.5 start @ 2.05, while Sporting -0.5 is @ 1.82. The Danes possibly may feel that they have lost their chance with the late goal in the first leg, but I would not want to put any faith in a Sporting side struggling domestically and in this competition.
Looking finally at the Under/Over market, where the line is set at 2.5. Over is @ 1.90 and Under is @ 1.86.
