Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Primeira Liga clash between Santa Clara and Sporting Lisbon, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Reigning champions Sporting Lisbon aim to secure a third successive victory in the Primeira Liga this weekend as they make the long trip to the Azores to face Santa Clara in matchday 11 action.
The Lions enter this encounter on the back of a 1-1 draw with Juventus in the Champions League in midweek, while the hosts’ most recent outing ended in a 1-0 league defeat to Gil Vicente on Monday.
Match preview
Ruben Amorim’s departure a year ago left a void many felt Sporting would struggle to fill, but despite some early hiccups in the weeks that followed, the Lions have enjoyed remarkable success since the Portuguese manager’s exit.
A domestic double from the 2024-25 campaign – including the Primeira Liga title and the Taca de Portugal – sits proudly in their cabinet, and Rui Borges’s first full season in charge has started on a promising note.
Tuesday’s stalemate in Turin leaves the Lions just two points off an automatic qualification spot in the league phase, while also extending their unbeaten streak across all competitions to seven matches, including five victories – two of which sealed progression to the next rounds of the Taca de Portugal and League Cup.
Borges’s men currently sit second in the Primeira Liga standings, three points off the summit after winning eight of their opening 10 fixtures, with their only blemishes being a 2-1 defeat to leaders Porto and a 1-1 draw with Braga on matchday eight.
The reigning champions also boast the best attack in the division, with 25 goals scored while conceding just five at the other end, and will hope those numbers count for something on Saturday against their struggling hosts.
Indeed, Santa have endured a difficult campaign, losing four of their last six outings across all competitions, including a humbling 5-0 loss to Benfica in the League Cup that preceded Monday’s league setback.
The Azoreans have now lost five of their 10 Primeira Liga matches — three of which came in the last four — while their 11 points from three wins and two draws leave them eighth in the standings, two places and seven points worse off than at this stage last season.
Central to Santa’s struggles has been their lack of cutting edge in the final third, with just eight goals scored — only the bottom two teams have managed fewer — while they have conceded 11 at the other end.
Five of those strikes have come in their last three home games, yielding two victories (L1), after Vasco Matos’s side failed to find the net in their opening two matches at Estadio de Sao Miguel.
With this improved return at home, the hosts will look to take something from Saturday’s game, even if they have lost their last two league meetings with Sporting in the Azores, including a 1-0 defeat in last season’s corresponding fixture.
Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:
Santa Clara form (all competitions):
Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form:
Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):
Team News
Santa appear to have an almost fully fit squad, though midfielder MT and centre-forward Anthony Carter have both missed the last two league outings, while winger Gabriel Silva was also unavailable for selection last time out.
Vinicius Lopes currently leads Santa’s scoring chart with three league goals and will be relied upon once more as he operates on the right flank, while Brenner takes charge of the opposite wing, with Wendel expected to spearhead the attack again.
Fotis Ioannidis made an impression upfront in midweek, though Luis Suarez is set to return to lead the line, with the Colombian looking to add to his seven league goals.
With Ivan Fresneda sidelined, Georgios Vagiannidis should continue at right-back, while Ousmane Diomande and Goncalo Inacio are likely to form the defensive pairing at the heart of the backline, with Zeno Debast still out of contention.
Other expected absentees include left-back Nuno Santos and midfielder Daniel Braganca, who continue their recoveries from a serious knee injury and a patellar tendon rupture, respectively.
Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Batista; Venancio, Lima, Rocha; Pereira, Firmino, Serginho, Soares; Brenner, Wendel, Lopes
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Silva; Araujo, Inacio, Diomande, Vagiannidis; Hjulmand, Simoes; Trincao, Pote, Quenda; Suarez
We say: Santa Clara 1-2 Sporting Lisbon
Taking maximum points from this weekend’s encounter may not come easy for Sporting, especially given the likely fatigue from consecutive trips, but the Lions should still have enough quality in their ranks to pull through.
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