Betting.Betfair

When I went on holiday to Bilbao, it was hard to miss the influence of Athletic Club around the city. Almost every tapas bar and watering hole has at least one Athletic-related picture, be it a signed photo of the proprietor hugging a player rather too enthusiastically, or a depiction of players past or present in the heat of battle. The most prevalent image is in many ways the most striking - a barge containing the double-winning team of 1984, with joyous fans covering the banks of the River Nervion to praise their heroes. Athletic haven't won a trophy since, but have a chance to reach the Europa League final. Their 2-1 first-leg defeat owed much to a stirring Sporting fightback. Athletic appeared to be in control after Jon Aurtenetxe put them in front, but in the closing stages Sporting...

It might have been another disappointing domestic campaign for Sporting but all will be forgiven if they somehow end up in a major European final. To do so, they will have to see off Manchester United's conquerors Athletic Bilbao, the 2.9 favourites to win the competition. It's a tall order, no doubt, but Sporting have defied poor league form to upset the odds before. Ricardo Sa Pinto's men have already seen off Manchester City in this year's competition and if their performance at Eastlands is anything to go by, they aren't likely to be intimidated this time either. After finishing a dispiriting 36 points behind champions Porto last season, Sporting had hoped for a new dawn with the appointment of Domingos Paciencia - who led Braga to last year's Europa League final. But there...