Sporting Lisboa - Heerenven
Football: Europa League 2009/2010
Thursday, 3rd December 2009. Kickoff 21:05

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Sporting (Portugal)

A draw is enough to seal the qualifying for the next stage. Sporting are leaders of the group with 10 points, six more than the 2nd placed teams Hertha and Heerenveen. Coach Carlos Carvalhal has only got two games as Sporting boss. First, a 1-4 win in neutral ground against Pescadores da Costa da Caparica (Portuguese Cup) and then a 0-0 home draw against Benfica for the league.

Carvalhal knows the qualifying for the next stage is not a very tough task, as they only need one more point in the next two games. However, he certainly wants to impress his supporters, who are thirsty of good displays and results. The pitch is in poor condition (irregular and sandy) and that is not a great thing for technique-based players.

Fullbacks Abel and André Marques are injured so Pedro Silva and Marco Caneira are likely to be starters. Matías Fernández will miss the last matchday of the Europa League at Hertha Berlin if he's given a yellow card. Winger Simon Vukcevic, who has now been used more often on the fight flank so he can use his left foot, sustained a knock on his knee and he's out.

Bruno Pereirinha was firstly said to be his substitute but the truth is that coach Carlos Carvalhal is likely to change tactics to a 4-4-2, which means Hélder Postiga will join Liedson up front.

Matías Fernández prefers to play in the centre but he should be positioned more on the right wing, with João Moutinho and Adrien Silva as centre-midfielders. Miguel Veloso will be the left-midfielder. We are still not sure about the two centre-backs to start but we believe Tonel will be benched, which means Daniel Carriço and Anderson Polga should be the ones to start.

Expected formation and line up :
Sporting(4-4-2)
Rui Patricio,
Pedro Silva, Daniel Carrico, Anderson Polga, Marco Caneira,
Matias Fernandez, Adrien Silva, Joao Moutinho, Miguel Veloso Liedson, Helder Postiga

Heerenven (Netherlands)

SC Heerenveen had a terrible start of the season with a place in the relegation zone as a result, but they're 9th at the moment in the Eredivisie after recoriding some vital wins so far.

The Europa League isn't a success for them this season, but they're surprisingly second in the group as the other teams refuse to record wins at all. The side from Heerenveen recorded a surprising away win against Hertha BSC, but they also recorded defeats against Hertha BSC and Sporting Portugal at home.

The next match against Sporting is a must win game if they want to survive this group and a defeat could be deadly. SC Heerenveen manager Jan de Jonge will start with a 4-3-3 formation and he has only one decision to make. Right back Janmaat serves his last match after recording a red card in Germany and he will sit this one out. Dingsdag, who lost his starting spot after a couple of matches this season, could get another starting spot in this match but De Jonge could also decide to start with Koning at right back.

Team captain Breuer, who missed the last Eredivisie match because of a suspension, will play at right back or in the centre. It all depends on De Jonge, who can use a strong potential in this match. Midfielder Svec will sit this one out but Grindheim, who is fit at the moment, is more than a perfect replacement for him.

Key striker Papadopoulos will lead the attack with Beerens and Assaidi starting on the wings. Papadopoulos is still doubtful and he will be replaced by Sibon if necessary. Bak Nielsen and Elm have trained with the group and they will make a first minute start.

Expected formation and line up :
Heerenven(4-3-3)
Brian Vandenbussche
Michel Breuer, Kristian Bak Nielsen, Michael Dingsdag, Goran Popov Viktor Elm, Hernan Losada, Christian Grindheim
Oussama Assaidi, Michael Papadopulos, Roy Beerens

Betting advice

I was very happy to finally see Paulu Bento leave Sporting. This squad has so much quality in it and to see them underperform on annual basis just made me feel sorry for the likes of Moutinho, Veloso and now Mati Fernandez.

I expect Sporting to seize the opportunity and grab the play-off ticket in impressive fashion.

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take Over 2.5 goals @ 1.75 with Bet365

HANDICAP BETTING :

Take Sporting (-1) @ 1.975 with Bet365