Fresh off the back of reaching the Champions League knockout phase, Sporting Lisbon welcome SC Farense to the Estadio Jose Alvalade in round 20 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Having lost each of the last seven meetings between the two teams, the Leoes de Faro will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts and climb out of the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Sporting Lisbon spared their blushes in the Champions League as they fought back from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against Italian outfit Bologna in their final outing of the group-stage phase at the Estadio Joe Alvalade on Wednesday.
Needing at least a draw to secure a spot in the top-24 places and reach the knockout phase, the Portuguese powerhouse found themselves trailing in the 21st minute after Tommaso Pobega put the visitors in front, but Conrad Harder struck in the 77th minute to restore parity and for a share of the spoils.
While it was largely a disappointing end to the group stages for Sporting Lisbon, who picked up one point from their final four matches, having kicked off the campaign with three wins and one draw from their opening four games, Wednesday's result saw them finish 23rd in the table, just above 25th-placed Dinamo Zagreb outside the qualifying places on goal difference.
While the Leoes have struggled to impose themselves in Europe, they now turn their focus to the Primeira Liga, where they are on course to secure consecutive league titles as they hold a six-point lead at the top of the league standings, having picked up 47 points from their 19 matches so far.
Sporting Lisbon made it three consecutive home wins and eight from their nine matches in the league this term last Saturday when they edged out Nacional 2-0 courtesy of goals in either half from Francisco Trincao and Joao Simoes.
Rui Borges's men head into the weekend unbeaten in each of their last six Primeira Liga matches, picking up four wins and two draws while scoring 13 goals and keeping four clean sheets since a 2-1 defeat against Moreirense on December 5.
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Farense, on the other hand, continued to struggle for results at the wrong end of the league standings as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Rio Ave when the two sides squared off last Saturday.
While the Leoes de Faro were guilty of a wasteful display in front of goal at the Estadio de Sao Luis, Kiko Bondoso and Clayton hit the target to put Rio Ave two goals up before Tomane pulled one back from the penalty spot.
Rio Ave have now failed to win each of their last five matches across all competitions, claiming three draws and losing twice, including a 3-1 defeat against Benfica in the fifth round of the Taca de Portugal on January 14.
This poor run of results has seen Toze Marreco's men plunge into the relegation zone as they sit bottom but one in the league table with 15 points from 19 matches, just three points above last-placed Boavista.
While Farense could move level with 15th-placed AVS outside the bottom three with a win on Sunday, next up is the daunting challenge of taking on a Sporting Lisbon side who have won each of their last seven clashes since December 2020.
Team News
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Sporting Lisbon will have to cope without the services of striker Viktor Gyokeres, who missed the game against Bologna last time out after recently sustaining a calf injury.
The Swedish international is one of several players on the club's injury table, including Eduardo Quaresma (muscle), Hidemasa Morita (thigh) and Pedro Goncalves (muscle).
Marcus Edwards has been sidelined since late November and the English forward is out of contention for the hosts while Nuno Santos continues his journey to full fitness after picking up a knee injury in October.
As for Farense, Marreco will be unable to call upon the services of Brazilian midfielder Angelo Neto, who is set to sit out his third consecutive game through injury.
Luiz Felipe continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a severe injury in February 2024 and the Brazilian goalkeeper is ruled out of this weekend's clash.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Silva; Fresneda, Diomande, Inacio, Araujo; Braganca, Hjulmand, Quenda; Catamo, Harder, Trincao
SC Farense possible starting lineup:
Velho; Ribeiro, Moreno, Jorge; Pastor, Soares, Menino, Victor; Balde, Tomane, Matias
We say: Sporting Lisbon 2-0 SC Farense
Sporting Lisbon got the job done in the Champions League and will return to league action in high spirits as they continue to pull away at the top of the table.
Borges's men take on an out-of-sorts Farense side who have struggled to get going this season and we are backing them to extend their dominance in this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
