Sporting CP (home)
- Sporting Clube de Portugal are the strong favorites to beat Rio Ave on Sunday as they sit second in the Primeira Liga table with 38 points from 15 games.
- Sporting have been the most consistent team in the top division this season and manager Rui Borges has successfully married the tactical legacy of Rúben Amorim with his own brand of midfield control and in-game shape.
- Sporting play high-tempo, vertical soccer where they press to win the ball back as high up the field as possible and with fluid formations, they can create overloads to get in behind the opposition’s defence quickly.
- Borges has kept them moving forward and pressing throughout the recent three-game winning streak that includes last week’s 4-1 away win over Vitoria Guimaraes in the Primeira Liga.
-
Recent form:
- Sporting have won three of their last five in all competitions (D1, L1).
- Sporting have won five, drawn one and lost one of their seven home Primeira Liga matches and conceded just three goals at the Estadio Jose Alvalade (0.43 per match on average).
- Luis Suarez has led the line well in the first 15 rounds, bagging 11 goals in the league and making him a danger in the box.
Rio Ave (away)
- Rio Ave are a tough team to crack at the moment and new boss Sotiris Sylaidopoulos has instilled a greater sense of compactness and methodical build-up play to his youthful squad.
- The main feature of their style is to overload the wide areas and create triangles of superiority for their players to exploit, while also maintaining a disciplined shape and trigger points for pressing.
- Rio Ave have not lost any of their last three away matches, with two draws and one win.
- Rio Ave’s away record in the Primeira Liga reads two wins, five draws and just one defeat with an average of 1.5 goals scored and conceded on their travels.
Head-to-Head
Sporting CP have won the last three H2H meetings , including a 2-1 away win in the Taca de Portugal eight months ago .
Key Players
- Top scorers
- Luis Suarez has led the line well in the first 15 rounds, bagging 11 goals in the league and making him a danger in the box.
- Clayton, with 10 goals in 15 league games, is Rio Ave’s talisman and has scored four of Rio Ave’s last five goals in recent matches.
Betting Insights
- Given the apparent contrast in tactics, this fixture will be a chess game between Sporting’s high pressing and central overloads against Rio Ave’s wing-based and compact approach.
- Sporting are odds-on favorites at 1.13 to take the win, which is understandable given the gulf in quality between the teams, while Rio Ave are long shots and the draw is available at 7.5.
- The Over 2.5 goals market at 1.4 has some appeal for bettors looking for a single wager on this matchup.
Prediction
The home side’s recent form, dominant H2H record and defensive solidity at the Jose Alvalade, however, should see Sporting bag all three points in this one.
