Athletic Bilbao Sporting Lisbon Odds : Marcelo Bielsa confident of Europa League glory in Spain
Athletic Bilbao host Sporting Lisbon on Thursday evening where the two sides meet in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final tie, as Paddy Power report plenty of support for the home side at 4/7.
Lisbon take a 2-1 lead into the match, however with the away goals rule in place, the tie is very much in the balance.
Bilbao remain undefeated at home in the competition this season, so they will go into this game very confident they can turn the tie around and progress to the final.
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The Spanish side go into the match on the back of an impressive 1-0 away win at the hands of Racing Santander too, a result which saw them move into sixth position in La Liga, which is the last Europa League spot in the Spanish top flight.
Athletic Bilbao have lost just once at home since November, so Lisbon will go into the game knowing they have their work cut out if they are to progress in this semi-final.
Sporting Lisbon will be very happy with their first leg performance, showing great spirit to come from one goal down.
The Portuguese side are now unbeaten in seven games, so go into Thursday night’s encounter believing they are good enough to overcome Bilbao.
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Lisbon currently sit in fourth place in Primera Liga, six points behind Sporting Braga in the final Champions League qualifying place.
Sporting were winners of this competition in 2005 and with Bilbao never picking up a major European trophy it could prove to be a big psychological advantage.
There is not much history between these two teams, having only played each other three times, so neither side goes into the game with a significant record against the other.
This is the biggest game in of the season for both Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Lisbon and with the tie being just about even, it should be a night to remember in the Basque Country. It all gets underway from 8.05pm.
