Betting tips for Sporting vs FC Astana - 22.02.2018

With one foot in the round of 16, Lions receive Astana in Alvalade. Jorge Jesus will no longer have problems with synthetics and Bas Dost is fit to go to the game. For the Kazakh club, which is debuting in the phase to eliminate of the European competitions, the coming to Lisbon will be another step in the learning. And if they get the chance, they'll want to make a mark.

After the results of FC Porto and SC Braga, Sporting CP became the only chance for a Portuguese team to remain in European competition this season. The team of Jorge Jesus did not escape to the fright in the displacement to Kazakhstan. After seven minutes, Marin Tomasov put the home team on the scoreboard and it was the result that the two teams collected at the break. Of course in the second period the difference in quality between the two teams, clearly favorable to the Portuguese club, came to the top. Bruno Fernando equalized through a penalty, Gelson Martins gave back to the marker and Seydou Doumbia reinforced the advantage, all in the first ten minutes of the second half.

Sporting CP have returned to the house with good prospects to close the way to the last 16 of the Europa League, but to do so they can not forget this initial discomfort in Astana. Jesus can no longer complain about the synthetic floor, nor the cold, nor even the injuries. Bas Dost made the ninety minutes on Tuesday, on the visit to the Tondela field (1-2), and Daniel Podence is, to date, the only confirmed low for the European day. Fredy Montero has been touched by the championship game and should not be sensible nor necessary to risk his physical condition on Thursday.

The victory at Tondela, with Sebastian Coates' goal at ninety-eight minutes, was a scandal. The referee gave discounts on rebates, turning twenty seconds into four minutes, and the late goal took the Beirã team to despair, as is understandable. The cherry on top of the cake was Coates having escaped to a yellow, even having stripped the jersey in celebration of the goal, which, having been sanctioned, had left Sporting with only one central for the next match of Liga NOS, since Mathieu was expelled as well.

With this result Sporting CP held the second place, maintaining the punctual equality with the Incarnates and two points of disadvantage for the Portistas.



Astana FC is in the first phase of European competition, and as you know there is a learning curve. Of course, there are those who learn quickly and as their domestic dominance is considerable there will be no shortage of opportunities for the Kazakh group to evolve. In this sense, the mere trip to Lisbon, in an all-or-nothing match, will already be a valuable experience. That said, I'm not discarding Astana already. The team is weakened by the lack of competitive pace and the departure of Junior Kabananga but showed in their top stadium that knows how to fight with the limited weapons that have in their arsenal.

Yuri Logvinenko was sent off in the first leg, after the first hour of play, with a second yellow, and will be suspended. There is no further limitation on the squad to the orders of Stanimir Stoilov.

Sporting vs FC Astana   Prediction: 1/1 1.80

Sporting vs FC Astana   Betting tip: Over 3.5 Goals @ 1.80

Sporting vs FC Astana  Score recommendations: 3-1 10.00