For our Juventus vs. Sporting CP prediction, we're going for a 1-0 win for the home side.
Arguably the tie of the round in the Europa League quarterfinals takes place in Turin on Thursday as Juventus take on Sporting Clube de Portugal.
Juventus reached the quarterfinal of the Europa League by beating Bundesliga side Freiburg 3-0 on aggregate in the last 16.
After a disappointing Champions League campaign that saw them exit in the group stage, Juve are thriving in the Europa League and this year's competition is of added importance to them given a top four finish in Serie A is far from guaranteed in light of a heavy points deduction back in January.
Thus, winning this competition could be their best route to a Champions League spot next season and they enter this game as one of the favourites remaining in the tournament.
They're coming into this tie in decent form overall having won three of their last five games, but having drawn one and lost one of their last two there is some concern that they may be starting to dip.
Their most recent game saw them fall to a 2-1 defeat away at Lazio in the league in what was a poor performance that saw them barely threaten their opponents.
They can at least fall back on their home form which is generally very impressive, with The Old Lady not losing any of their last eight games on home soil while winning four of their last five.
Juve are marginal favourites for this tie but they're facing a very well put together Sporting CP side that have demonstrated on multiple occasions this season that they are not to be underestimated.
Sporting CP reached the quarterfinal of the Europa League by eliminating Premier League leaders Arsenal on penalties following a 3-3 draw on aggregate.
The result was deserved, too, as Sporting gave Arsenal a rough time on their own patch and showed an impressive level of cohesion that is clearly a result of an excellent coaching job by manager Ruben Amorim.
They enter this game in good form, unbeaten in their last eleven matches having won four of their last five games.
Most recently Sporting beat Casia Pia 4-3 away from home in the Primera Liga.
Their form away from home has been very impressive having gone unbeaten in their last eight away games, winning seven and drawing one of those.
Sporting will very much fancy their chances here against a Juventus side that are significantly weaker than those of years gone by, and if they can avoid defeat here then they'll be even more confident.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.
