Sporting v Tottenham predictions: Spurs should extend winning start in Group D

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Sporting v Tottenham in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 4, 5.45pm Tuesday

Best bet

Tottenham -0.5 Asian handicap
1pt 103-100 bet365

Team news

Sporting
Centre-backs Luis Neto and Goncalo Inacio limped out of Sporting's 4-0 win over Portimonense and French defender Jerry St Juste was already out.

Tottenham
Lucas Moura has returned to training.

Match preview

Sporting's rotten recent record against English opponents is hard to ignore as they brace themselves for a visit from Tottenham in Champions League Group D.

It's a battle of the top two as Sporting and Spurs take to the field at the Jose Alvalade Stadium on three points each after impressive wins last Wednesday.

Not many saw Sporting's 3-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt coming on matchday one, especially after their indifferent start to term.

Few were surprised, however, that Spurs saw off a dangerous Marseille side 2-0, such is the confidence running through the ranks at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

And there won't be many raised eyebrows if Tottenham dot up in Lisbon. They are around even money and shorter though you can nick a fraction more value by backing the visitors giving a half-goal start on the Asian handicap. If Spurs win, the bet is a winner while any other result means a losing wager.

The cards have fallen nicely for the Londoners. They were spared a Saturday-night examination from Manchester City, giving Antonio Conte more time to prepare for the trip to Sporting.

Assessing the hosts isn't straightforward. Second in the league last season, then fleeced in the summer of top pros such as Joao Palhinha, Matheus Nunes and 15-goal top scorer Pablo Sarabia, Sporting have perhaps undertandably endured a horror start, shipping eight goals in their first four games.

They have since won three in a row, all to nil, but beating mid-table and lower-ranked Primeira Liga teams counts for precious little on the continental scene. Winning 3-0 in Frankfurt, on the other hand, should make anyone sit up and take notice. It's true, the Germans are porous this season – 17 goals conceded in eight matches – but Sporting, after starting tamely, won well last week.

In general, they look light in attack where the line is set to be led by one-time White Hart Lane academy ace Marcus Edwards, now flourishing in Lisbon. Given head coach Ruben Amorim's talent for polishing rough diamonds into priceless gems, his next step could be interesting.

Edwards is 15-2 to open the scoring, a market headed by Harry Kane, who is on fire with five goals already in the Premier League.

Sporting could also be short at the back with injury clouds over a trio of defensive regulars.

This tussle looks made for Spurs. Sporting will try to keep the ball – they enjoyed 57 per cent of possession against the increasingly frantic Germans – and that plays to one of the Lilywhites' strengths on the counter.

The game may well start in cagey fashion – both of last week's Group D matches were 0-0 at the break before exploding to life - so the half-time draw is another consideration.

But Tottenham, robust these days and playing with something of a swagger, should enjoy taking on a Sporting side who failed twice to find the net against Manchester City in the last 16 last February and whose record in their last seven matches against English opponents reads no wins, two draws and five defeats.

Key stat

Sporting's last seven matches against Premier League teams have produced two draws, five losses and a 3-16 goals aggregate.

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