Europa League: Sporting Welcome Familiar Foes to Lisbon

Sporting Lisbon vs Atalanta

Both Sporting and Atalanta will have war flashbacks from their skirmishes during the group stages as they prepare to meet once again in the Round of 16 of the Europa League.

The Leões have yet to win against La Dea this term, but Rúben Amorim and his men are currently on a high after claiming the top seed of the Portuguese league, and they can surely use that enthusiasm as they welcome a familiar foe to the gates of Estádio José Alvalade.

Sporting will once again rely on Viktor Gyökeres to funnel and lead their offence against Atalanta’s struggling defencive line, which has conceded seven goals in their last three.

On the other end of the pitch, Gasperini and his men look exhausted, coming off two gruelling losses against their Serie A rivals in the past few days. It will be interesting to see if Gasperini decides to rotate his squad against a scorching Sporting.

Talking Points

Atalanta could use a breather

Some say it could be fatigue from their gruelling schedule, but Gasperini and his men are now winless in their last three Serie A matches.

They started to rally to San Siro, where they managed to tally a 1-1 draw with Rafael Leão and Milan, a respectable start to their two-game road trip. But with just two days of rest, they braved the Italian league leaders, Inter, who thrashed them in front of a roaring Milanese crowd with a score line of 4-0.

Atalanta had to go back to Gewiss with just one point in their pockets. Just three days after their humble defeat against Inter, they hosted another Champions League-worthy club, Bologna, who are currently the hottest outfit in the top flight.

Atalanta failed to maximize their home advantage against I Rossoblù, who came marching to Gewiss and cruised past Ademola Lookman and his teammates with a 1-2 away victory.

La Dea couldn’t have had a worse three-game slate in Serie A, facing three of the top four outfits in Italy in a span of just one week. That’s a tall order for any club in the top flight, to say the least.

Unfortunately for Gasperini and his outfit, they will only have two days’ rest before they travel to Lisbon to take on the best team in Liga Portugal, Sporting CP, for the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 bouts.

Viktor Gyökeres is deadly accurate

Sporting’s No. 9, Viktor Gyökeres, has been perfect for the past few weeks. The Swedish striker has been the man of the match for Rúben Amorim’s outfit night in and night out, and Gyökeres is showing no signs of slowing down.

Currently, Gyökeres has scored a total of 17 top-flight goals in 22 appearances for Sporting this season, second only to Braga’s Simon Banza in the Liga Portugal Golden Boot race.

But Swedish striker not only finds the back of the net on a consistent basis, he is also a proven maestro with the ball, creating opportunities for his teammates to thrive. The 25-year-old has claimed nine assists in the season thus far, proving why he’s so pivotal to Sporting’s success.

The main striker for Sporting has scored at least one goal in eight of their last 10 matches across all competitions. So it’s safe to say that Gyökeres is a certified goal-scoring machine and a bonafide stud.

He has already scored five goals in the Europa League this season, and SBOTOP football fans should expect more goals and Europa League 2024 highlights from the former Coventry City standout.

History

These outfits have gotten to know each other for a brief period during the group stages. Sporting and Atalanta faced each other twice in Group D, where Atalanta won their first meeting with a 1-2 score line and then proceeded with a 1-1 draw during their next altercation.

The Leões have yet to win a match against Atalanta this season, but the Portuguese side might pull one off given how in-form they have been in the past few weeks.

In recent form, La Dea have been struggling to garner some wins in their domestic league, going winless in their last three matches. Sporting, on the other hand, have been unbeaten in their last five and were able to claim the top spot in Liga Portugal from Benfica, who are also Round of 16 participants.

Betting Tip

Despite having the winning record in their head-to-head matchups, Atalanta will be coming in as the underdogs at 3.13, while Sporting boast themselves as the slight favourites at 2.02 with a 3.26 price to draw.

Considering the fact that Sporting recently reached the summit of Liga Portugal and have been unbeaten since the last week of January, their price of 2.02 should be considered a value bet. Not to mention that they’ll be playing in front of their home fans at Estádio José Alvalade.

Another Europa League 2024 betting odds line to keep an eye on is Sporting’s Asian Handicap of -0.25 at 1.88. This goes hand in hand with their main lines, which suggests that the Portuguese side will be able to fend off La Dea at Lisbon.

 

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