Conte’s Tottenham ‘clear favourites’ says Sporting coach

Antonio Conte’s Tottenham are “clear favourites” in this week’s Champions League Group D match, Sporting coach Ruben Amorim said on Monday on the eve of their game in Portugal.

“Tottenham are the clear favourites in the group. They are a team that have one of the best attacks in the world with a winning coach in Italy and England and world-class players,” said Amorim. 

“They are strong in transitions, have a lot of quality on set pieces. We will have to be wary because they will punish us for the slightest mistake.”

Both teams won their opening match with Sporting top of the table after beating Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 and Tottenham winning 2-0 against Marseille. 

“Of course the previous game increases our confidence,” continued Amorim, “but the pressure will in any case be on the Tottenham who will be favourites.”

He added Tottenham would also be fresher having not played their scheduled Premier League fixture against Manchester City following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

“Often it is the English teams who have less recovery time,” added Amorim. 

Italian Conte agreed: “Of course not having played on Saturday changes the situation. It allows us to recover better.

“When you play every three days, you run the risk of having more injuries and less energy.

“I’m more relaxed when it comes to choosing my starting XI. The postponement of the game against City has allowed me to change the idea of the team I had in mind for tomorrow’s game.”