Sporting vs Midtjylland Prediction: Expect a home team to win

Sporting will host Midtjylland at the Jose Alvalade Arena in Lisbon in the first match of the Europa League Qualifying Playoff.

Sporting showed a very good game in the Champions League group stage. From the beginning of this stage, the Lisbon club had little chance to get out, as they faced a rather difficult quartet - Tottenham, Eintracht, and Marseille. Thus, victories over Tottenham and Eintracht and a draw against Spurs led Sporting to the playoffs of the Europa League, where they faced a passing opponent - Midtjylland.

As for Sporting, there are no particular problems. The team recently lost to Porto (0:2) in the League Cup final. After that, the Lisbon team crushed Braga in the national championship, scoring five unanswered goals, defeated Rio Ave with a 1:0 score, and finally lost again to Porto, but this time by one goal (1:2).

Midtjylland, unlike its upcoming opponent, was originally in the location of the Europa League. He faced a pretty surprising group of teams that included Feyenoord, Lazio, and Sturm, and at the end of the group, they all had eight points each. The teams' destiny was decided by faceoffs and goal difference, thanks to which the Danish club successfully took second place and qualified for the playoffs of the League.

It should be noted that while the Danish league is on break, Midtjylland played two friendly matches in which the team drew with St. Pauli and overcame Odense (4:2), and also the team participated in the Atlantic Cup, where they outplayed Ulsan (1:0) and Elfsborg (2:1) on penalties.

The bookmakers' analysts are more inclined to see the second team win, and we fully agree. Still, the difference in class is significant. Sporting at the group stage showed high-class football, beating the powerful Tottenham and strong Eintracht. The opponents also had achievements in the Europa League, but the class of the opponents there was slightly lower. It is also worth considering that at least three goals were scored in nine home games of the last ten at the arena in Lisbon.