Sporting CP vs. Borussia Dortmund: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

This is one of the tougher ties to call. One thing that's safe to expect is goals, with over 2.5 goals having been scored in four of both sides' last five Champions League outings.

In terms of the result, Sporting are in better form on the whole, although Niko Kovač has only been in the job a week or so. Dortmund still have an advantage on paper and Sporting found life tough against the last Bundesliga side they faced in the group stage, so we fancy a high scoring draw for this one. Sporting 2-2 Dortmund.

One of the more interesting ties of the Champions League playoff round takes place in Lisbon this week as Sporting CP lock horns with Borussia Dortmund.

• Date: 11/02/2025
• Kick-off time: 20:00
• Location: Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon

Sporting finished 23rd in the Champions League group stage with 11 points from 8 games. The Portuguese outfit have had a fairly turbulent season, but they just about managed to secure their place in the playoff stage of this competition. Sporting started their European campaign excellently, taking seven points from their first four games, but after Ruben Amorim’s departure to Manchester United, the rails started to come off.

Amorim’s replacement, João Pereira, lasted only six weeks in the job and was swiftly replaced following a string of bad results. Since then, Sporting have looked much more stable under the guidance of Rui Borges.

Sporting remain top of the Primeira Liga with a four-point cushion over 2nd placed Benfica, and since the appointment of Borges, they’ve lost only one game, excluding penalty shootouts, which was a 2-1 defeat away at RB Leipzig. In Borges’ short time in the job, they’ve recorded wins over both Benfica and Porto.

Sporting have progressed beyond the last 16 of this competition only once in their history, a quarter-final defeat to Real Sociedad in 1982-83, and with four of their last five campaigns ending in group stage exits, they’ll feel like this has already been a solid campaign. They’re facing a Dortmund side here that are far from their best, so they have a huge chance to secure a place in the round of 16.

Borussia Dortmund finished 10th in the Champions League group stage with 15 points from 8 games. Compared to what they’ve shown in the league, Dortmund’s Champions League campaign has been pretty successful this season, which is largely a continuation of last season’s exploits. In fairness, though, Dortmund had a somewhat easy ride in terms of fixture difficulty and lost to arguably the three best teams they faced in the competition.

Like Sporting, Dortmund have had a pretty tumultuous season, with a string of very poor performances leading to the sacking of manager Nuri Şahin after only a few months in the job. With Dortmund lying in 11th place in the Bundesliga, they’re on track for their worst Bundesliga finish in a number of years, so former Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovač has been tasked with leading the team out of the doldrums.

Dortmund are not short of quality and their squad is very arguably one of the best in the Bundesliga, so there is a minimum expectation that Kovač at least raises the performance levels of the team, even if they don’t make up the ground they want to in the league. A playoff tie against Sporting is perfectly winnable and they’ll be glad they’ve avoided some of the continent’s big hitters, but they’ll need to be drastically improved compared to recent showings if they want to win this one.

This game will be televised live to all subscribed UK viewers on TNT Sports 2.

Sporting Team News:

The Portuguese club have been dealt a huge blow in this game as midfielder Morten Hjulmand is unavailable through suspension after picking up a yellow card against Bologna in Sporting's most recent Champions League game.

In addition to Hjulmand, Sporting will also be unable to call upon the services of Pedro Gonçalves, João Simões and Nuno Santos, all of whom are out injured.

Predicted lineup: Israel; Fresneda, Diomande, Inácio, Araújo; Bragança, Debast, Morita; Trincão, Gyökeres, Quenda.

Borussia Dortmund Team News:

Carney Chukweumeka picked up a knock in training and was unable to make his debut for Dortmund at the weekend, so his inclusion here is doubtful.

Felix Nmecha is also out injured for the visitors, but there aren't expected to be any further absentees for the Bundesliga club.

Predicted lineup: Kobel; Ryerson, Can, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Sabitzer, Gross; Adeyemi, Brandt, Gittens; Guirassy.

Sporting CP:

Sporting come into this game amidst a mixed run of form, with two wins, two draws and one loss from their last five games. Most recently, Sporting were held to a 1-1 draw by Porto, where despite taking the lead through Iván Fresneda, Porto equalised in stoppage time, only for Sporting to go and get two red cards as Matheus Reis and Ousmane Diomande were given their marching orders.

Before that, goals from Fresneda, Diomande and Conrad Harder produced a 3-1 win over Farense, which followed a 1-1 draw with Bologna - where Harder scored once again - and a 2-0 win over Nacional, thanks to Trincão and João Simões.

Those results followed a 2-1 defeat away at RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

Borussia Dortmund:

Borussia Dortmund enter this game with two wins, one draw and two defeats from their last five outings. The Germans were beaten 1-2 at the weekend bt Stuttgart, a result that was preceded by a 2-1 win over Heidenheim, with the goals coming from Serhou Guirassy and Maximilian Beier, and a 3-1 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, thanks to a Guirassy brace and a goal from Ramy Bensebaini.

Prior to that, Dortmund drew 2-2 with Werder Bremen, where Guirassy got on the scoresheet once again, which was preceded by a 2-1 defeat away at Bologna.

• Latest match predictions
• Football tips
• Football accumulator tips
• Football bet of the day