Analysis
Alvalade’s team never managed to win in Italy, but Luís Cristóvão believes that Sporting heads into the duel with Juventus with room for growth and a rare opportunity to counter their negative record on Italian soil. The SIC commentator also highlights the balance between Luis Suárez and Ioannidis at the front and the focus on qualifying for the play-offs.
O in a decisive game for qualification in the Champions League. Despite the difficulty of the challenge, Luís Cristóvão sees the current situation of the two teams as a favorable scenario for the “lions”, as long as they maintain the attitude shown against Napoli.
“There is room for error, even if small,” admits Luís Cristóvão, stressing that Sporting’s main objective is to guarantee qualification for the play-offs.
“Looking at the value of Juventus and Sporting’s current situation, I would say that Sporting has an excellent opportunity to achieve a good result, if they can do throughout the game against Juventus what they did in the second half against Naples, that is, play eye to eye and with all their qualities against one of the great Italian teams”, explains the SIC commentator.
Regarding the absence of Luis Suárez, who appeared with his knee tied before the trip to Italy, Cristóvão is cautious: “With Suárez and Ioannidis, Sporting have two excellent options for the striker position. Luis Suárez has been instrumental in the way he enhances the greater quality of his teammates and more opportunities for his teammates. Ioannidis is a player who stretches further forward. I would say that due to the characteristics of this game it could even be the case that Ioannidis, even with Suárez fit, is the ideal bet”.
Juventus-Sporting takes place this Tuesday, in Turin, and kicks off at 8pm.
