Fresh off the back of a Taca de Liga defeat against Porto, Sporting Lisbon return to the Primeira Liga where they play host to Arouca at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Saturday.
The visitors will head into the game desperate to get one over Ruben Amorim's side having lost each of the last 11 meetings between the sides since 2013.
Match preview
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Sporting Lisbon suffered a blow in their hunt for the Taca de Portugal title as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Porto in the first leg of their semi-final clash on Wednesday.
Following an uneventful first half, the game sparked into life four minutes after the interval when Pablo Sarabia broke the deadlock, but Mehdi Taremi and Evanison scored in a five-minute spell to turn the tie on its head.
Sporting Lisbon now turn their attention to the Primeira Liga where they are currently on a fine-game unbeaten run, claiming three wins and two draws since January's 2-1 loss against Braga.
However, Amorim's side will feel somewhat disappointed by their most recent league outing as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Maritimo on February 26, when Bruno Xadas and Islam Slimani scored for either side to force a share of the spoils.
With 58 points from 24 games, Sporting Lisbon are currently second in the Primeira Liga standings, four points above rivals Benfica in third place and six adrift of first-placed Porto.
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Arouca, on the other hand, failed to make it two wins from two in the league for the first time this season last time out when they came from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw Moreirense.
In a game where Fabio Pacheco received his marching orders, Yan Santos and Santos loanee Bruno Marques scored for either side to force a share of the spoils at the Bruno Marques.
Armando Evangelista's side have now managed just one win from their last five outings — claiming two draws and losing two — with a 3-1 victory at Vitoria de Guimaraes on February 19 being the only exception.
This poor run has been owing to their struggles and lack of sting at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have scored just two goals in their last five outings and 23 in their 24 games this season.
Arouca have won five, drawn seven and lost 12 of their 24 league games this season to collect 22 points and sit in 15th place on the log, just two points above the relegation playoff spot.
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Team News
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Sarabia is currently in the form of his life, registering eight goals and four assists in his last 13 games across all competitions and we expect the Spanish forward to lead the attack once again.
On the injury front, Sporting Lisbon remain without Portuguese star Pedro Goncalves, who is set to sit out his third consecutive game after coming off injured against Estoril Praia on February 20.
Nuno Santos is also a major doubt for the Leoes after coming off at half time in the game against Porto last time out, with Marcus Edwards taking his place.
Meanwhile, newly-signed midfielder Wellington Nem awaits his Arouca debut after sustaining an injury while in action for Cruzeiro against Nautico back in November.
He is joined on the club's injury table by the duo of Fernando Augusto and Jose Manuel Velazquez, who are recuperating from shoulder and knee injuries respectively.
Moses Yaw has been out of action since last April after suffering a severe muscle problem while Oday Dabbagh also misses out after the 23-year-old forward picked up an injury against Famalicao on January 31.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Inacio, Neto, Feddal; Porro, Nunes, Ugarte, Reis; Paulinho, Edwards, Sarabia
Arouca possible starting lineup:
Braga; Thales, Basso, Glovic, Quaresma; Eboue, Moreira, Simao; Bukia, Alves, A Silva
We say: Sporting Lisbon 3-0 Arouca
Sporting Lisbon will be looking to restore some pride after their cup defeat against rivals Porto last time out. They will fancy their chances against an inconsistent Arouca side who they have gotten the better of in each of their last 11 encounters since 2013. Looking at the gulf in class and quality between the two sides, we are tipping Sporting Lisbon to come away with all three points unscathed.
Top tip
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 63.25%. A draw had a probability of 20.8% and a win for Arouca had a probability of 15.96%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sporting Lisbon win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.05%) and 2-1 (9.9%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.87%), while for an Arouca win it was 0-1 (4.92%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 11.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Sporting Lisbon in this match and our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted the win for Sporting Lisbon.
