The Europa League throws up an exciting group stage clash on Thursday night as Portuguese giants Sporting host Atalanta. Below we preview the Group D encounter to come up with a betting angle for you to consider.

Team news:

Sporting will be buoyed by the news that their two star players, Viktor Gyokeres and Pedro Gonçalves are fit and ready to take on Atalanta. Ruben Amorim is still having to contend with the long-term issue to Jerry St Juste but has no new injuries to worry about. 

Meanwhile, Atalanta are coping without summer signings El Bilal Toure and Gianluca Scamacca. The two attackers will miss this match, while Mario Pasalic could be called into the starting XI by Gian Piero Gasperini. 

Viktor Gyokeres to score anytime @ 15/8

Sporting splashed out a record £20m on Viktor Gyokeres this summer, and the Swedish striker is certainly proving his worth in Portugal. So far, the former Coventry man has scored five goals in six league matches, as well as scoring in their 2-1 win over Sturm Graz in the Europa League. 

A powerful forward with an eye for goal, Gyokeres has been almost unstoppable, bullying defenders and creating chances for himself. He’s also the team’s nominated penalty taker and has been flawless from the spot so far. Given Sporting are going to be roared on by a vocal home crowd, expect Gyokeres to live up to the occasion. He’s made every step up so far in his career look easy – the 15/8 on offer for him to score anytime seems incredibly generous given his quality. 

Under 2.5 goals @ 10/11

Although Gyokeres is a major threat and Atalanta boast the likes of Ademola Lookman and Luis Muriel, don’t expect too many goals in this clash. The Italian side have been notoriously stingy when it comes to goals this season, drawing 0-0 twice with Juventus, and keeping four clean sheets on the bounce. 

Each of their last four outings have seen fewer than 2.5 goals and given Sporting provide a different challenge, you can expect the two evenly-matched sides to cancel each other out. When you take into account the fact the Italian outfit are missing El Bilal Toure and Gianluca Scammacca through injury, their attacking output looks slightly hampered and they are unlikely to score a huge amount of goals. I’m more than happy to predict this one as being a tight affair.