We said: Sporting Lisbon 2-1 Lille
Sporting beat Lille twice in the Europa League group stage 14 years ago, and the clubs' first Champions League clash should go the same way.
Not only have the hosts suffered just one defeat in 28 league matches, they have won each of the last 19 on home soil: backed by a passionate fanbase, they are set to start the league phase with three precious points.
Read more.Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sporting Lisbon win with a probability of 53.49%. A win for Lille had a probability of 23.87% and a draw had a probability of 22.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sporting Lisbon win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.78%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.97%) and 2-0 (8.34%). The likeliest Lille win was 1-2 (6.16%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.5%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 8.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Sporting Lisbon would win this match.