Supercomputer forecasts tough Champions League run for Sporting | OneFootball

Despite the epic night at Alvalade, the numbers don't match the enthusiasm. Opta has updated the odds for the remainder of the UEFA Champions League and Sporting appears as the least favorite among the eight clubs still in the competition.

Even after eliminating Bodø/Glimt with a 5-0 victory, the lions have only a 21.29% chance of overcoming Arsenal and reaching the semi-finals, being the team with the lowest probability at this stage of the competition. As for a potential presence in the final, the odds are 7.97%, while the possibility of winning the tournament is set at just 3.03%.

On the other side of the draw, Arsenal emerges as the clear favorite, with a 78.71% chance of advancing, and is even considered the main candidate to win the Champions League, with about 29.73%. Behind the English team are clubs like Bayern Munich, Barcelona, PSG, Real Madrid, Liverpool, and Atlético de Madrid, all with higher probabilities than Sporting.

Still, despite all these numbers, Rui Borges' team has already shown in this edition of the competition that probabilities mean little on the field. After what happened against Bodo/Glimt, it's hard to completely rule out the lions, even against an opponent with the weight and quality of Arsenal.

It's worth noting that UEFA has already confirmed the schedule for the Champions League quarter-finals, and Sporting already knows when they will face Arsenal. The first match will be in Lisbon, at the José Alvalade Stadium, on April 7th, starting at 8:00 PM. The second leg will be played in England, on the gunners' ground, on April 15th, also at 8:00 PM.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.