Sporting CP begin their Europa League campaign this week with a trip to Eindhoven for a first ever meeting with Dutch side PSV at the Philips Stadium.
The hosts dropped into the competiton after being knocked out of the Champions League in the qualifying rounds, while Sporting qualified directly for the Europa League by winning the Portuguese Cup.
Latest Odds
Sporting have a strong record against Dutch opposition having won 11, drawn three and lost just two of their 15 games against teams from the Netherlands. Sportsbet offer the visitors at 4.00 with the hosts priced at 1.83 and the draw on offer at 4.00.
PSV vs Sporting Team News
PSV are missing Sam Lammers, Yanick Van Osch and Gaston Pereiro, while Sporting are likely to be without Stefan Ristovski, Jovane Cabral and Rodrigo Battaglia. It remains to be seen how strong a side the hosts field however with a big domestic clash against Ajax coming up this weekend.
PSV vs Sporting Preview
The Eindhoven outfit come into the game in fine form with five consecutive wins in all competitions, during which time they have scored 17 goals. Youngster Donyell Mayen capped off a memorable week by scoring all five goals against Vitesse on Saturday having scored on his Netherlands debut a few days before against Germany. In their three Champions League group games at home last season they managed to score against Barcelona, Inter and Tottenham and we should readily expect the hosts to get on the scoresheet. In the Eredivisie last season PSV's matches averaged 3.65 goals, while each of their last five home games in the Champions League have seen over 2.5 goals.
Tips and predictions
Over 2.5 goals and both teams to score is priced at 1.95 and that looks like a solid option. PSV have kept few clean sheets at home in Europe against higher quality opposition, although they tend to score goals which should lead to this selection paying out.
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Over 2.5 goals and both teams to score at 1.95 for a 2pt stake with Sportsbet