Sporting v Viktoria Plzen Betting Tips: 1 AH-1, 2018-03-08

Sporting to outscore Plzen in 1st leg

Europa League Tips

SPORTING v VIKTORIA PLZEN

Thursday 8th March 2018 – Kickoff: 2005hrs

Football – Europe – Europa League Betting Tips

The first legs of the round of the last 16 in the Europa League commences on Thursday night and my next pick features Portuguese outfit, Sporting, taking on Czech Republic side, Viktoria Plzen, at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon.

The hosts, Sporting Lisbon, will be eager to gain an early advantage in this first leg after having disposed of Astana in the previous round, winning 6-4 on aggregate in a high-scoring tie, and there could be further goals on show for the home side, who grabbed a 3-1 win away at Astana in the first leg to set up victory.

However, Sporting were held to a 3-3 draw in the return home leg, so they’ll be mindful that they cannot afford another slip-up here. But 12 wins from their last 13 on home turf in all competitions should see them put in another good shift in this clash, particularly with highly-rated striker Dost (20 goals) and Martins (6 goals) in support.

Viktoria Plzen secured their passage through to this round of 16 following the classic blueprint of holding their Serbian opponents, Partizan Belgrade, to a 1-1 draw away from home in the first leg, before registering a solid 2-0 home win in the second.

However, Plzen may well be forced into an attacking battle against the flair and creativity of Sporting in this tie, and having recorded just one away win from their last 11 outings in the Europa League, Plzen are reasonably poor travellers at this level.

The visitors’ best chances then, appear to be to attempt to hold Sporting to a draw in Lisbon on Thursday night with a view to finishing the tie off in Plzen, but they may lack the necessary firepower in this first leg.

Pick: Sporting AH-1 @ 1.77 Marathonbet