Sporting Lisbon vs FK Qarabag Predictions

There was a lot of disappointment when Sporting missed out on the Champions League last season. However, that blow came on top of a narrow defeat to Atletico Madrid, another setback the Lions’ faithful didn’t take too well. That sparked a difficult summer, but the club are looking to rebuild. They head in to this clash on Thursday aiming to claim all three points against Qarabag. Can they get off to a strong start in this home encounter, and put some pressure on Arsenal?

Sporting are set to rival Arsenal for top spot in this group, and the Portuguese side are going to be tough competition. They were set to lose many of their top stars in the summer, but the majority decided to hang around as the club moved in a new direction. The Lions were also predicted to struggle against their rivals at the top of Portuguese football, but they’re level with Benfica and ahead of Porto so far, so they’re still in the race for the Primeira Liga title.

Qarabag made an unsuccessful push for Champions League football, losing out in the qualifiers this summer. The Azerbaijan side caused problems for Atletico Madrid in Europe’s top competition last season, thanks to some excellent efforts in defence. They kept the Spanish side at bay to earn a point home and away, and that approach is what they’re likely to take in this week’s visit to Portugal. Qarabag are always at their best when they’re forced to defend, and they can be a tough side to break down.

The hosts have been hit after some key departures, and you have to question how they’re going to fare in Europe without the likes of William Carvalho and Gelson Martins. Sporting will need to adjust expectations, but they do have some solid form to build on. Not only have they started the Primeira Liga campaign well, they managed to claim home wins to nil over Atletico Madrid and Viktoria Plzen in their last two games in this competition.

Qarabag saw under 2.5 goals land in all but one of their last seven Champions League games. Meanwhile, they’ve seen nine low scoring matches across their previous 13 in this competition. We see Sporting keeping the score down, while potentially lacking the quality needed in attack to create chances against a deep defence. We’re backing under 2.5 goals in this one, and a 1-0 home win.