FC Astana take on Sporting Lisbon in the first round of their Europa League Round of 32 tie in Kazakhstan next week, with the hosts looking to record a positive result in front of their home fans ahead of the reverse fixture in Portugal. Astana have provided many shocks in Europe over recent seasons, with another one on Thursday evening certainly not out of the question.
Europa League – FC Astana vs Sporting Lisbon – Astana Arena, Astana – Thursday 15th February – 16:00 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 13/5 at Ladbrokes |
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Sporting LisbonMatch Preview
Having failed to qualify for the latter stages of the Champions League, Portuguese side Sporting now find themselves in the second tier of European competition, with a trip to Kazakhstan hardly one of their preferred ties when the draw was made. However, Jorge Jesus’ men will have to be somewhere near their best to come away with anything against Astana, who are a tricky team to beat on home turf. With little separating the duo in the build up to the match, be sure to check out our top betting tip below. However, let’s first take a closer look at the two teams, starting with the home side.
FC Astana Team News & Form
The home side may well take a while to find their feat at the Astana Arena, with their domestic campaign having not yet started. However, manager Stanimir Stoilov will be confident of a strong showing after his team won three times during the group phase of the Europa League, as well as scoring ten goals from their six matches. Ghanaian striker Patrick Twumasi is likely to lead the line for the hosts, with the forward having scored over 20 times for the club since his arrival back in 2015.
Sporting Lisbon Team News & Form
Sporting can perhaps count themselves unlucky to have not reached the last 16 in the Champions League following strong showings against both Barcelona and Juventus, and the visitors will be looking to return to winning ways following a Portuguese Cup defeat away at arch rivals Porto last time around. With the likes of Das Bost, Gelson Martins and Bryan Ruiz in their ranks, Sporting are a team always capable of finding the back of the net, with an away goal in Kazakhstan potentially proving crucial in the tie.
Head to Head
The two teams are yet to meet in a competitive fixture, meaning that no conclusions can be made when it comes to their head-to-head record.
FC Astana v Sporting Lisbon – Betting Odds and Predictions
Given the fact that they were previously competing in the Champions League, it comes as little surprise that it is Sporting who are the favourites for victory with the majority of bookmakers, despite being the away side next week. The visitors can be backed at best odds of 11/4 with PaddyPower, while the hosts are currently at 11/4 with the same bookmaker ahead of kick-off.
Top Betting Tip FC Astana v Sporting Lisbon
However, our top betting tip for the match is to bet on there being under 2.5 goals during the 90 minutes in Kazakhstan, which is available at odds of 4/6 with bookmaker Ladbrokes.