One of the biggest events on the Portuguese football calendar takes centre stage this weekend, as Porto welcome arch-rivals Sporting to the Estadio do Dragao on Sunday.
With four matches remaining, table-topping Sporting sit seven points clear of second-placed Benfica and 18 points ahead of third-placed Porto.
If you’re looking for stats, trends and analysis, we’ve got you covered. Read on to find out what Forebet’s predictive analytics model forecasts for Sunday’s clash.
👌 @HHerreramex acrobático para a vitória em 2019 🤩Golo do Dia 🤩 Goal of the day🆚 Sporting CP 🗓 2018/19📺 @SPORTTVPortugal#FCPSCP pic.twitter.com/N3DwVqvG3A— FC Porto (@FCPorto) April 25, 2024
👌 @HHerreramex acrobático para a vitória em 2019 🤩Golo do Dia 🤩 Goal of the day🆚 Sporting CP 🗓 2018/19📺 @SPORTTVPortugal#FCPSCP pic.twitter.com/N3DwVqvG3A
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, Porto, who claimed a 2-1 victory over Casa Pia last weekend, racking up 17 shots in the process.
That result ended a three-game winless run for the Dragons in the league, with defeats to Estoril and Vitoria SC preceding a 2-2 draw against Famalicao.
Although Porto have struggled for consistency of late, they have remained solid at the Estadio do Dragao, losing just one of their last 10 home league games.
Having won 10 of their 15 Liga Portugal home games this season, the Dragons will be hopeful of delaying Sporting’s title celebrations this weekend.
As for the visitors, they secured an easy 3-0 victory over Vitoria SC last weekend, thanks largely to a brace from former Coventry City striker Viktor Gyokeres.
The Sweden international has now racked up 38 goals and 16 assists this season, including 24 goals and 10 assists in 29 Liga Portugal appearances.
Not only have Sporting won each of their last eight league games, but they have also won 16 of their previous 17, drawing 3-3 with Rio Ave back in February.
In terms of the bigger picture, the Lions have won 26 of their 30 league matches this season (87%), scoring 87 goals in the process (2.9 goals per game).
Head-to-head: Believe it or not, Sporting have won just one of their last nine meetings with Porto across all competitions, losing five of the previous six.
In December, the Lions ended a 13-game winless run in the league against the Dragons. During that period, Porto registered seven wins and six draws.
Team news: Porto are currently without the injured trio of Diogo Coast (muscle), Ivan Marcano (knee) and Zaidu (knee).
Sporting also have a couple of injury absentees at the moment, with Antonio Adan (thigh) and Matheus Reis (unknown) on the sidelines.
Despite Porto’s dominance in the fixture over the past few years, Sporting have been the best team in Portugal by a country mile this season.
Forebet predicts that Porto and Sporting will combine for over 4.5 goals on Sunday, with the visitors outscoring the hosts.