Sporting – Kairat

Sporting will not have an easy start in the Champions League.

The greatest discussions surrounding Kairat Almaty's appearance in the Champions League have been sparked by the necessity of long flights to Kazakhstan. Real Madrid, Paphos, Olympiacos, and Brugge have not been lucky in this regard. The players and fans of Kairat, happy to be in the elite of European football, on the other hand, did not complain about anything. Although they were set for the longest journey in the Champions League planned for the very first round. The Kazakh team arrived in Lisbon on Tuesday to be able to adapt in Portugal on Wednesday. For Kairat, this is the first match in history against Portuguese clubs, while Sporting has already played against Astana in the 2017/2018 season, drawing with their opponent at home - 3:3. After Benfica sensationally lost to Qarabag in Lisbon on Tuesday, it is unlikely that Sporting's players will approach their match against a potential group outsider in a relaxed state. In general, bookmakers have no doubt about the home team's victory, offering a coefficient of 1.08 for that outcome. Sporting clinched their second consecutive championship title in Portugal last season. The team displaced Benfica from the top position in the league table in the second half of the championship. Sporting started the current season with four victories and one defeat. The setback for the 'green-whites' came in their match against current leaders Porto. In the opening fixture of last year's Champions League, Sporting defeated Lille 2:0 at home. This will be the team's fifth start in the elite European tournament in the last six seasons. In the last four opening matches of various tournaments, Sporting won three times. Kairat will take to the field of the Lisbon stadium as an obvious underdog. Against the Kazakh club, it seems, everything is against them: a high-class opponent, an away stadium, discomfort from the long flight, and a lack of serious experience in the Champions League. However, Kairat does have an invaluable advantage - a cohesive and disciplined defense. In the last four official matches, the Kazakh club has not conceded a single goal, including against Celtic, both at home and in Glasgow. We will bet that there will be a restrained number of goals in the match.