Athletic Club vs Sporting CP: Lineups, Predictions & Betting Tips

Athletic Club vs Sporting CP: Lineups, Predictions & Betting Tips

Match Details: January 28 2026 | Estadio de San Mames | UEFA Champions League - Round 8 | 20:00 GMT

The final match game week in the Champions League, league phase and a very vital game of football for both of these teams.

For the home team Athletic Club, they will be hoping to take all 3 points to make sure that their dreams of going into the next round is safe and secure as they currently sit 23rd equal on points with both 25th and 26th, so they will need to make sure they get the points.

Sporting on the other hand will be wanting all 3 points so that they can look to reduce their match load. This would allow them to challenge more in their domestic league and try to catch FC Porto. They currently sit equal on points with 8th, 7th and 6th.

Our advanced algorithm has predicted that this game will end with the points being split in a 1-1 draw. This would see both of them risk losing out on their ideal places.

Key Betting Tip: Sporting CP to win this game at 3.40 odds – this represents excellent value based on tips provided to us by our team of in-house tipsters.

Athletic Club vs Sporting CP Predicted Lineups

Athletic Club Predicted Lineup (3-4-2-1): Simon, Lekue, Vivian, Paredes, Gorosabel, Rego, Jauregizar, Boiro, Gomez, Navarro, Guruzeta

Sporting CP Predicted Lineup (3-4-2-1): Silva, Matheus, Inacio, Fresneda, Mamgas, Simoes, Morita, Catamo, Araujo, Trincao, Suarez

Recent Athletic Club and Sporting CP Match Analysis

Last 5 Athletic Club Matches: Osasuna 1-1 Athletic Club (A) La Liga Barcelona 5-0 Athletic Club (A) Supercopa de Espana Cultural 3-4 Athletic Club (A) Copa Del Rey Mallorca 3-2 Athletic Club (A) La Liga Atalanta 2-3 Athletic Club (A) Champions League

Some poor form from Athletic Club recently with the most worrying sign being their weak defence. They have played the last 5 matches away from home and it looks that without the home support their defence struggles having conceded in every game and 14 goals in total over the last 5 matches. This defence could cause them a lot of issues when going into this game as Sporting are able to attack and cause issues. This alone could cause them a lot of harm in their dreams of moving onto the next round in the Champions League especially as while their attack can cause issues it has seemed inconsistent out scoring teams twice but failing to do it in the other 2 matches and against Barcelona failing to score. If they don’t fix their defence or their home fans don’t help than their Champions League dreams could be over.

Last 5 Sporting CP Matches: Sporting CP 4-0 Rio Ave (H) Liga Portugal Gil Vicente 1-1 Sporting CP (A) Liga Portugal Sporting CP 1-2 Vitoria de Guimaraes (H) League Cup Sporting CP 3-0 Casa Pia AC (H) Liga Portugal Sporting CP 2-1 PSG (H) Champions League

Some strong form from Sporting as they look to carry this on and hopefully get into the next round of the Champions League. They have managed to win 3 of their last 5 matches including a massive win against the current Champions of Europe PSG. However, the main issue comes from the fact that all of their wins have come from when they have played at home, for this game we look at their one away match where they saw only a single goal scored something they only did one other time in their last 5 matches. In their last 5 matches they haven’t been tested away from home much so this could cause some worry, however, the confidence that they have picked up especially after the PSG win should help them a lot.

Athletic Club vs Sporting CP Predictions

Our advanced algorithm has analysed over 200 pieces of data and predicted with a 30% confidence that Sporting CP will win this game. The key factors are players available, current form, and tactical matchups.

Best Athletic Club vs Sporting CP Betting Tip

Football Park’s Best Bet: Sporting CP to win this game @ 3.40 odds. This is based on tips provided to us by our team of in-house tipsters as a result of Sporting CP having a stronger form, defence and attack in recent matches.

Key Players to Watch: Athletic Club vs Sporting CP

Nico Williams (Athletic Club): Not had the best output this season and yet to have contributed to a goal in the Champions League this season, Nico Williams has still been their main attacking output and threat. His pace and ability to be direct has caused issues for defence and he will be hoping that he can do this in the most important game for Athletic Club so far this season. Expect a lot of their attacks to go down the left and through him.

Luis Suarez (Sporting CP): Sharing a name of one of the best strikers ever and this season he has lived up to that name for Sporting with 19 goal contributions in 18 matches this season in the league. He has been their finisher this season and has done that to great success and this was shown in their last Champions League match where they faced PSG, when he came on he caused the PSG defence a lot of issues and was the man who bagged both of Sporting’s goals in their win. He will be hoping he can do this again and help his team get automatic qualification to the round of 16.