Sporting Lisbon and Gil Vicente get round eight of the Portuguese Primeira Liga underway when they go head to head at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Friday.
The Gilistas will head into the weekend looking to pick up consecutive away wins for the first time since February while also getting one over the hosts, who have won each of their last six encounters since December 2019.
Match preview
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Sporting Lisbon were sent crashing down to earth in their most recent outing as they suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Boavista when the sides squared off at the Estadio do Bessa two Saturdays ago.
Despite being under the cosh for most of the game and seeing less than 30% of possession, summer signing Bruno Lourenco scored either side of Marcus Edwards's 55th-minute strike to hand the hosts all three points.
Prior to that, the Leoes were on a four-game winning streak across all competitions — a run which saw them climb to the top of Group D of the Champions League courtesy of victories over Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.
Ruben Amorim's side now return to their home turf, where they have won three of their four games across all competitions this season and are on a run of eight wins in 11 league outings since the turn of the year.
With 10 points from a possible 21, Sporting Lisbon are eighth in the Primeira Liga standings, level on points with ninth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes and one point above Friday's visitors, who currently occupy 10th place.
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Gil Vicente, on the other hand, continue to struggle for results in front of their home fans as they played out a 2-2 draw against 10-man Rio Ave at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos a fortnight ago.
After goals from Goncalo Rodrigues and Aziz put Rio Ave in a comfortable lead, the newly-promoted side imploded in the final 10 minutes of the game as Fran Navarro and Murilo de Souza found the target to force a share of the spoils.
Gil Vicente have now failed to win any of their most recent four home games in all competitions, picking up two draws and losing twice since a 4-0 victory over Riga FC in the Conference League qualifier on August 11.
Ivo Vieira's men head into the weekend on a run of one win from their last eight outings across all competitions, claiming three draws and losing four — with a 2-1 victory over Maritimo in their last away game being the only exception.
While the Gilistas will be looking to pick up their first successive away wins in the league since February, standing in their way is the daunting task of squaring off against a Sporting Lisbon side who have won the last six meetings between the teams, dating back to a 3-1 loss in December 2019.
Team News
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Sporting Lisbon will be without the defensive duo of Jeremiah St. Juste and 31-year-old Sebastian Coates, who have been sidelined with hamstring and thigh injuries respectively.
Twenty-four-year-old forward Jovane Cabral has been out of action since June, while Portuguese international Luis Neto is set to sit out his third consecutive game through injury.
Fellow countryman Daniel Braganca suffered a severe knee problem back in May and the 23-year-old midfielder will play no part in this weekend's matchup.
Gil Vicente, on the other hand, will be without Portuguese goalkeeper Brian Araujo, who picked up a straight red while on the substitutes' bench against Rio Ave last time out.
On the injury front, the Gilistas will have to cope without summer signing Lucas Barros, who awaits his debut after sustaining an injury while in action for Covilha back in May.
He is joined on the club's injury table by 31-year-old goalkeeper Stanislav Kritsyuk, who has been out of action since last November due to a leg injury.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Esgaio, Inacio, Reis; Porro, Morita, Ugarte, Santos; Trincao, Edwards, Goncalves
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Veiga, Ferrugem, T Araujo, Marin; Tiba, Carvalho, Fujimoto; Boselli, Navarro, Arai
We say: Sporting Lisbon 3-1 Gil Vicente
Off the back of their surprise loss against Boavista, Sporting Lisbon will head into Friday's clash looking to make an immediate positive reaction.
Amorim's side have enjoyed the better of this fixture, winning 13 of the last 16 encounters between the sides, and we are backing them to extend their dominance over the Gilistas.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
