League leaders Sporting Lisbon host SC Farense in the Primeira Liga on Saturday hoping to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points.
Meanwhile, Farense have won their last two league games at home but have failed to win any of their five away matches in all competitions.
Match preview
© Reuters
Sporting Lisbon dropped points for only the second time this campaign by drawing 2-2 away at Famalicao in their last league match two weeks ago.
Pedro Goncalves, who opened the scoring for Sporting in the first half, was later sent off with 10 minutes to go and that dismissal proved costly as Famalicao scored an 89th-minute equaliser through Jhonata Robert to snatch a point.
Ruben Amorim's side remain top of the Primeira Liga, two points clear of city rivals Benfica and are also the only side in the top flight who remain unbeaten.
Sporting have recently progressed in both their domestic cup competitions, beating Pacos de Ferreira 3-0 in the Taca de Portugal last Friday before winning 2-0 at home to Mafra in the Taca da Liga four days later.
Leoes, who have beaten Farense in all of their previous three home matches against them, could win their sixth successive match at the Jose Alvalade Stadium with victory on Saturday.
© Reuters
Farense moved off the bottom of the Primeira Liga table courtesy of winning 2-1 at home to Maritimo last weekend.
Goals from Bilel Aouacheria and Ryan Gauld secured the three points for Sergio Vieira's side for only the second time since their promotion from the second tier.
After losing their opening three matches, Farense have since picked up eight points from their last six matches but they sit just one point clear of the relegation zone.
Vieira will be satisfied with how his side have responded to a difficult start in their first campaign back in the top flight since 2001-02 and will be keen for his team's good run of form to continue.
Farense understand how huge the task will be against the league leaders but will take confidence from their encounter with Benfica earlier this season when they narrowly lost 3-2 away from home.
A surprise victory on the road would be their first away from home this campaign and could move them into the top half of the table, as high as eighth.
Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form: WWWWWD
Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions): WWWDWW
SC Farense Primeira Liga form: DLDWLW
SC Farense form (all competitions): LDWLLW
Team News
© Reuters
Sporting made several changes in midweek for their quarter-final victory over Mafra and Ruben Amorim is likely to revert to a more familiar starting XI for their Primeira Liga clash this weekend.
Winger Jovane Cabral is unavailable for selection with a hip injury while Pedro Goncalves is suspended.
Midfielder Matheus Nunes, who has made substitute appearances in Sporting's last four league matches, could be handed a start as a replacement for Goncalves.
Farense right-back Alex Pinto and centre-back Cesar Martins remain out with muscle injuries.
Defender Eduardo Mancha, who has missed the last two league matches, is doubtful and will have further tests on his thigh injury leading up to Saturday's match.
Scotsman Ryan Gauld, who has scored three goals in his last four appearances, is set to start up front alongside Nikola Stojiljkovic.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Neto, Coates, Feddal; Porro, Palhinha, Nunes, Mario, Mendes; Santos, Sporar
SC Farense possible starting lineup:
Defendi; Oudrhiri, Bura, Falcao, Nunes; Aouacheria, Isidoro, Melo, Mansilla; Gauld, Stojiljkovic
We say: Sporting Lisbon 2-0 SC Farense
Having previously pushed both Braga and Benfica in league encounters, Farense will be confident that they can cause an upset against one of the bigger Portuguese outfits. However, we feel that Sporting will extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 12 matches and claim another three points on Saturday.
Top betting 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 64.79%. A draw had a probability of 20.8% and a win for SC Farense had a probability of 14.43%.
The most likely scoreline for a Sporting Lisbon win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.3%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.12%) and 2-1 (9.73%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.87%), while for a SC Farense win it was 0-1 (5.01%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Sporting Lisbon in this match.
