Sporting Lisbon will host Rio Ave on Sunday with the aim of closing the gap on Primeira Liga leaders FC Porto. Currently sitting second in the standings, Sporting Lisbon trails Porto by five points. A victory would keep them within striking distance as Porto faces bottom-placed AVS the following day.
Match Preview
Sporting Lisbon comes off a commanding 4-1 win against Vitoria Guimaraes, allowing them to maintain their pursuit of the league title. Early strikes from Francisco Trincao and Fotis Ioannidis set the tone, followed by two additional goals in the second half. This match was crucial as it capped off a strong start to their season, with Sporting winning 12 of their first 15 fixtures. Their only setbacks came from a defeat to Porto and draws against Braga and Benfica.
Home Strength
- Sporting has achieved seven consecutive home wins across all competitions.
- In their last six victories, they scored 21 goals while conceding only once.
- Rio Ave has suffered losses in eight of their last nine meetings with Sporting.
Historically, Rio Ave has struggled against Sporting, suffering defeats by at least two goals in their last four visits. Despite this, Rio Ave enters the match with optimism, having gone four away matches without a loss (two wins and two draws), including a recent 2-2 draw with Gil Vicente.
Current Standings
Rio Ave is currently 10th in the league, four points above the relegation zone, with three wins and a league-leading eight draws from their first 15 matches. They will hope to extend their drawing record to get something from this tough encounter.
Team News
Sporting Lisbon will be without winger Geny Catamo and center-back Ousmane Diomande, both on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. Ivan Fresneda is suspended following his fifth booking. Nuno Santos, Daniel Braganca, Zeno Debast, Georgia Quenda, and Pedro Goncalves are all out due to various injuries. Coach Rui Borges may opt to use a 4-4-2 formation, keeping Luiz Suarez and Ioannidis as the attacking duo.
Rio Ave faces challenges as well, with Tamas Nikitscher suspended after a red card in the previous match. Clayton is also unavailable due to his fifth booking. However, Marios Vrousai returns from suspension and is expected to play a key role at right-back.
Expected Lineups
Sporting Lisbon
- Goalkeeper: Silva
- Defense: Vagiannidis, Quaresma, Inacio, Mangas
- Midfield: Araujo, Simoes, Hjulmand
- Forwards: Trincao, Ioannidis, Suarez
Rio Ave
- Goalkeeper: Miszta
- Defense: Petrasso, Panzo, Abbey
- Midfield: Vrousai, Ntoi, Aguilera, Athanasiou
- Forwards: Luiz, Zaobi, Pohlmann
Match Prediction
Given Sporting’s impressive home form, a comfortable victory is anticipated. A scoreline of 3-0 in favor of Sporting Lisbon seems likely as they aim to solidify their position in the title race.
