Sporting CP head into Wednesday’s Taca da Liga semi-final against CD Santa Clara as heavy favorites. Will Rubin Amorim’s men live up to expectations? Or can the Azoreans upset the odds?
Sporting find themselves second in the Primeira Liga table – 27 points ahead of tenth-place Santa Clara. That tells you everything you need to know about the gulf in quality between these two sides.
That said, Sporting come into Wednesday’s clash on the back of a rare defeat. Despite dominating proceedings, they were beaten 2-1 by Braga on Saturday.
The Lions took the lead midway through the first half but ended up conceding in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Still, it is worth noting that Sporting have lost just two of their 19 league games this season – picking up 15 wins and two draws along the way.
They also boast the joint-best defensive record in the Portuguese top flight, having conceded just 12 goals this term.
In the Taca da Liga, Sporting won both of their group games earlier in the campaign – beating Famalicao 2-1 before dispatching Penafiel 1-0.
Santa Clara are also unbeaten in the Taca da Liga this season. After getting past Farense in the second round, they recorded a win and a draw in their group.
However, their Primeira Liga campaign isn’t going so well. They have only managed to win five of their 19 league games this term, registering five draws and nine losses in the process.
Having conceded 36 goals in 19 league matches, Santa Clara have one of the worst defensive records in Primeira Liga.
On a brighter note, Santa Clara head into Wednesday’s clash on a three-game unbeaten streak. They even beat Sporting earlier this month!
Head-to-head: On January 7, Santa Clara came from behind on two occasions to beat Sporting 3-2 – despite seeing just 34% of the ball.
When you look at the bigger picture, however, Sporting have lost just one of their last 13 meetings with Santa Clara – securing ten wins along the way.
Team news: Sporting will be without left winger Jovane and right-back Pedro Porro on Wednesday as they pair continue to recover from injury.
As for Santa Clara, they have just one injury absentee at the moment. Attacking midfielder Costinha will miss Wednesday's clash.
Although Santa Clara beat Sporting earlier this month, Sporting are expected to gain their revenge on Wednesday.
Forebet predicts that Sporting will keep a clean sheet one their way to edging out Santa Clara.