The best quality team in the quarter-finals of Europa League probably did not bring any uncertainty, at least when it comes to the first duel in Madrid. True, Atletico was a big favourite, especially in their field and they had the advantage of 2-0, which certainly completely satisfied them, because they did not receive any goals. Sporting can regret the opportunity at the end of the match, but with no result, as they are aware of how difficult the team from Madrid receives goals. In the course of time, Sporting celebrated in the championship against Ferreira, and Atletico had played a draw with Real in a city derby. When these rivals met in Lisbon in 2010, it was 2-2.
All that happened to Sporting before this first match against Atletico could also show that they will not be able to escape the defeat in Madrid. They struggled with Plzen in the round of sixteen of Europa League and it should be said that they then had 2-0 after the first match, but they lost with the same result in the rematch, so the won placement after extra time.
In the championship, they lost their first major derby, and then were defeated in a derby against Braga, so they dropped to fourth place on the table. After a duel in Madrid they defeated Ferreira on their field with 2-0 and now they have the same number of points as Braga, with one game less, however, Benfica has nine points more and they cannot reach that till the end. They are having problems with absences and the suspended striker Dost and left-back Coentrao will not be able to play due to injuries, while Carvalho is also questionable.
Probable lineups Sporting Lisabon: Patricio – Piccini, Coates, Mathieu, Cesar – Wendel, Battaglia – Martins, Fernandes, B.Ruiz – Montero
Atletico has done most of the work in the first round and they are now left to complete the task, and if some team is able to defend the advantage, then it is Atletico, the team that is in the top five of Europa League, received at least one goal on average. Against Sporting, they kept their net untouched, and it certainly helped that they took the lead in the first minute of the match, because for Atletico 1-0 was a good result when they knew how strong their defence was.
At the end of the first half, they have received the second goal, and in the second they played their recognizable defensive game, although they had some luck in their finish. Last weekend they had a new heavy match because they played against their city rival Real and managed to stay undefeated at Santiago Bernabeu. Coach Simeone did not want to rest the players in that duel, which means they did want to lose, but they are certainly more tired now. Only Gabi and Correa remained on the bench, so it is logical that they now play and those are the only two changes.
Probable lineups Atletico Madrid: Oblak – Juanfran, Savic, Godin, L.Hernandez – Gabi, Koke, Saul Niguez, Correa – Griezmann, D.Costa
It is to be expected that Atletico will be set maximally careful and retain the gained advantage, but Sporting must also strive and seek the leadership as soon as possible. Sporting is able to score a goal on their field, while they could receive some due to their open game.
Pick: both teams to score
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