On Thursday, starting with 20:00, the Sporting – LASK match will be played, within the Europa League play-off. The two teams also met in the group stage of the previous edition of the competition. Then, Sporting won 2-1 at home, but LASK got a conclusive victory in return, score 3-0 in Linz.
Sporting eliminated Aberdeen in the 3rd preliminary round, after a 1-0 victory at home, after a match in which the team was clearly better. The Portuguese aim for the 7th appearance in the Europa League groups, a competition where the best result remains the semifinal of 2012/2013, lost to Athletic Bilbao, then coached by “El Loco” Bielsa. In the first stage of the new season of the domestic championship, Sporting started with the right, ticking a victory on the field of Pacos Ferreira, score 2-0.
Like Sporting, LASK was eliminated in the last 16 of the previous edition. The Austrian group had then won the group with Sporting, Rosenborg and PSV Eindhoven. In the 3rd preliminary round, LASK did not encounter any problems, winning with 7-0 a home match with modest Dunajska Streda, from Slovakia. The team from Linz obtained 7 points in the first 3 stages of the 2020/2021 season of the Austrian Bundesliga, being ranked third, two points behind the champion Salzburg.
There are two teams of substantially equal values, as demonstrated in the two matches last season.
-Sporting has 7 appearances in the Europa League groups;
-The Portuguese were eliminated by Basaksehir in the last edition, in the last 16;
-LASK qualified for the Europa League group stage last season, for the first time in the club’s history;
-The Austrians were eliminated by Manchester United in the last edition, in the last 16;
PREDICTION: Both teams to score / YES @ 1,84
