Preview: Sporting Lisbon vs. Boavista

Sports Mole previews Sunday’s Primeira Liga clash between Sporting Lisbon and Boavista, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Still licking their wounds from their midweek Europa League exit, Sporting Lisbon play host to Boavista in round 26 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.

Os Axadrezados have lost each of their last 10 visits to the Estadio Jose Alvalade since January 2015 and will head into the weekend looking to end this poor 11-year run.

Match preview
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Sporting Lisbon were dumped out of the Europa League on Thursday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat against Atalanta in the second leg of their round-of-16 clash at the Gewiss Stadium.

Having played out a 1-1 draw in Portugal on March 6, Pedro Goncalves gave the Leoes a dream start to the return leg as he opened the scoring in the 33rd minute but Ademola Lookman and Gianluca Scamacca scored second-half goals to turn the game on its head and send Atalanta through to the quarter-finals on aggregate.

Sporting Lisbon now return to action in the Primeira Liga, where they picked up a comfortable 3-0 victory against Arouca at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca last Sunday courtesy of goals from Geny Catamo, Morten Hjulmand and in-form striker Vitor Gyokeres.

Ruben Amorim’s side have now won all but one of their last 11 league outings — with a thrilling 3-3 draw with Rio Ave at the Estadio dos Arcos on February 25 being the exception— a run which has put them on course to clinch their first league title since 2021.

With 62 points from 24 matches, Sporting Lisbon currently lead the league at the summit of the Primeira Liga standings, one point above second-placed Benfica, albeit with one game in hand.

Key in the Leoes title challenge has been their outstanding record on home turf as they have won each of their 12 Primeira Liga matches at the Estadio Jose Alvalade this season, scoring a staggering 40 goals and conceding nine.

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Boavista, on the other hand, resumed their push for a top-half finish as they secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Moreirense when the sides squared off at the Estadio do Bessa last Saturday.

Portuguese midfielder Miguel Reisinho came up clutch for the home side as he broke the deadlock with eight minutes left in the game to hand Os verdes e brancos their eighth league defeat of the season.

Prior to that, Ricardo Paiva’s side were on a three-game winless run, suffering back-to-back defeats against Chaves and Braga in their final two games in February before playing out a 1-1 draw with Famalicao on March 4.

Boavista have now won seven of their 25 Primeira Liga matches so far while losing 11 and claiming seven draws to collect 28 points and sit ninth in the table, level on points with eighth-placed Gil Vicente.

Next up for Os Axadrezados is the daunting challenge of taking on a rampant Sporting Lisbon side who are unbeaten in 19 of their last 20 meetings across all competitions, claiming 17 wins and two draws since December 2014.

While Boavista will look to pick up where they left off last weekend and get one over Sunday’s hosts, they have struggled to get going on their travels, where they have failed to win their last four matches, picking up just two points from the last 12 available.

Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form:

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

Boavista Primeira Liga form:

Team News
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Goncalves was forced off injured midway through the first half against Atalanta on Thursday and the Portuguese forward is a major doubt for Sporting Lisbon.

Should he fail to shake off the injury, 24-year-old Daniel Braganca should come into the fold, teaming up with Danish midfielder Hjulmand at the centre of the park.

Amorim will also be unable to call upon the services of goalkeeper Antonio Adan, who has missed the last five matches through a thigh problem, while midfielder Hidemasa Morita has been ruled out due to illness.

Gyokeres was uncharacteristically quiet at the Gewiss Stadium, but the Swedish striker, who has 19 goals and nine assists in 23 Primeira Liga games, should spearhead the Leoes’ attack once again.

Boavista remain without Brazilian goalkeeper Cesar Dutra, who has been sidelined since last August through a cruciate ligament rupture.

He is joined on Os Axadrezados’ injury table by teenage left-back Augusto Dabo, who also continues his long road to full fitness after suffering a severe injury last year.

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Israel; Diomande, Coates, Reis; Catamo, Hjulmand, Braganca, Quaresma; Edwards, Trincao, Gyokeres

Boavista possible starting lineup:
Goncalves; Awaziem, Abascal, Onyemaechi; Malheiro, Camara, Vukotic, Ferreira; Lourenco, Agra, Bozenik

We say: Sporting Lisbon 3-0 Boavista
Sporting Lisbon will look to quickly move in from their midweek Europa League disappointment as they continue their quest for the league title. Amorim’s men boast the firepower needed to get the job done, and given their outstanding home record, we are tipping them to claim maximum points this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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