Will Sporting remain unbeaten in Porto?
Porto vs. Sporting is the top match of the Primeira Liga. The home side are the first chasers of the visiting league leaders. However, from the point of view of the blue and whites, this sounds better than it is: There are already an impressive ten points between the clubs and the guests have still not recorded a defeat after 20 rounds of matches!
The Lions’ defense, in particular, has been impressive, allowing an average of only 0.5 goals so far. For the match between Porto and Sporting Lisbon, the tip is that the points will be shared.
The Dragons and Lions last faced each other in the League Cup just over a month ago. Here, Sporting prevailed 2-1 on their own turf. The victory was highly dramatic, as Porto were leading until the 79th minute before a double strike by Cabral turned the even game around.
In the first leg of the current Primeira Liga season, the teams drew 2-2 in Lisbon last October, and once again the “Azuis e brancos” conceded a very late goal to secure the draw for last year’s fourth-placed team.
Porto – Sporting Lisbon Portugal Tip – a draw
Porto and Lisbon are on a level playing field. The hosts are very strong at home and recently beat Italian champions Juventus in the Champions League, but Sporting have had an almost flawless season in the Portuguese top flight with 17 wins and three draws.
Their performances away from home are usually strong as well: The Dragons’ home advantage is thus neutralized. For the showdown between Porto and Sporting Lisbon, the tip is that the points will be shared. A result that already came about in the first half of the season.
Furthermore, a draw would be an absolutely satisfactory result from the visitors’ point of view, because it would keep their closest rivals at bay. Against this background, a defensively oriented visiting team can be expected.
Sporting have been waiting longer for their next win in Porto
Both matches were also real card festivals: No less than 17 yellow cards and one sending-off for Sporting coach Amorim were shown by the referees in the two encounters!
In addition, the visitors have not won anything away from home for quite some time: They have lost their last five matches at the “Dragoes” and their most recent away win was almost five years ago. For the next edition of Porto vs Sporting Lisbon, the odds are moderately pointing towards another home win.
Portugal Porto – Statistics & Current Form
The Blue and Whites recorded an important victory against Maritimo last Monday. Thanks to the 2:1, a series of three draws was ended. However, it was only a hair’s breadth, as the decisive winning goal by Otavio came from a penalty and only in the third minute of injury time.
In the upcoming top match, the reigning champions will now rely on their home strength: Only one of ten home games was lost and with an average of 2.3 own goals, coach Sergio Conceicao’s team has the best home attack in the league-wide ranking. In addition to the national competitions, Porto is currently competing in the Champions League.
Even the Italian champions lost in Porto
The Italian champions lost in Porto, where they had a strong home win against Juventus just over a week ago, proving their home strength in this competition. A 2-1 win against the Old Lady means that the prospects of remaining in the top flight are very good with regard to the upcoming return match in Turin.
Already during the group stage, the two-time World Cup winners did not show any weakness on their own ground: Piraeus and Marseille were both defeated, including a clean sheet, and they managed a goalless draw against Manchester City. The 29-time champions of the country can also rely on Mehdi Taremi in the attack.
The Iranian striker has scored in half of the last ten league games and in the CL match against Juventus, Taremi needed just 63 seconds to get past Szczesny in the opponent’s box! On top of that, the 28-year-old scored in the semi-final of the Portuguese Cup at Braga to secure a 1-1 draw in the first leg against the in-form Braguistas.
Given his current goal-scoring form, the odds on his next strike in the match between Porto and Sporting Lisbon are also value. They are available at 2.70 at Unibet. At the moment, the bookmaker is also offering an advantageous Unibet new customer bonus, which makes opening an account particularly worthwhile.
Porto’s likely line-up:
Marchesin – Pepe – Mbemba – Manafa – Sanusi – Luis Diaz – Sergio Oliveira – Uribe – Corona – Taremi – Marega
Sporting Lisbon – Statistics & current form
The “Verde e brancos” missed out on participation in the Europa League this season and were thus able to focus completely on the national competitions. The painful defeat in the playoffs against LASK turns out to be a positive factor the championship.
As mentioned, Sporting are currently at the top of the Primeira Liga table, and after 18 seasons in which Porto and Benfica have won the title, Sporting are well on the way to breaking through this phalanx.
Coach Ruben Amorim’s team last won the title in 2002, which is why the current lead in the standings has already sparked a great deal of euphoria among Sporting fans.
Sporting’s offensive is also convincing
In addition to the best defence, the 18-time champions have the second strongest attack in the Portuguese top flight after their upcoming opponents. Pedro Goncalves deserves special mention here: With 14 goals in the season, the 22-year-old currently leads the scoring charts.
In addition, Lisbon can easily counter Porto’s home strength with their own away record: They have won nine of their ten away games so far – once again the best record in the league.
Predicted line-up of Sporting Lisbon:
Adan – Feddal – Coates – Inacio – Porro – Palhinha – Mario – Mendes – Santos – Tomas – Goncalves