Eintracht Frankfurt vs Sporting Match Preview

Eintracht Frankfurt host Sporting Lisbon in their UEFA Champions League group stage opener.

The hosts are back in Europe's most important club competition after six decades thanks to winning the UEFA Europa League trophy. Their defeats at the start of the year to Real Madrid (European Super Cup) and Bayern Munich (Bundesliga) brought some dark clouds but they disappeared after two draws and two wins over Werder Bremen and Leipzig which they compined with four goals each.

On the contrary, the visitors look weakened compared to last season having already lost two in the first five matches of the Portuguese Primeira Liga. The sale of Mateus Nunes to Wolves and of Joao Palhinha to Fulham has taken away their strength in the midfield which, especially in the early stages of the new season, is evident in the difficult games.

Taking into account all the above, I expect the home team with the support of their enthusiastic audience to put pressure on the Portuguese team and manage to get the victory that is priced at decent 2.12 odds. In addition, Sporting's record in Germany is poor since in fourteen games they have drawn just one and lost the others, indicative of the different pace and intensity between these two leagues. I will stake 3 units on Eintracht Frankfurt to win as I think it is a value bet.