Arouca vs Sporting Lisbon Predictions

• Sporting Lisbon have won two of their last three Primeira Liga away games this season.
• Arouca have lost their last 12 league and cup matches against Sporting Lisbon.
• Both teams have scored in three of Sporting’s five away league games and Arouca’s last three home matches.

Lions have quality to quell Arouca threat

Sporting Lisbon could be made to seat a bit by Arouca, but Ruben Amorim’s side have the quality to come away with all three points on Saturday.

Arouca have shown plenty of ambition in their recent home contests, scoring seven goals and conceding five in their last three combined. That sort of approach could enable them to land a blow on the Lions’ chin, but ultimately it might cost them a chance of holding the visitors in check.

Sporting competed well at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday and probably deserved the draw which keeps them in the hunt for the Champions League last-16.  The Lisbon club have been very hit and miss on the road domestically this term, but the common theme through their games has been an inability to shut down games when they had a result in their hands.

Finishing teams off has been Sporting’s Achilles heel 

They led three times and only took a point at Braga on opening weekend and fell to a late winter at Boavista after hailing themselves back on level terms. Even in their 2-1 victory over Santa Clara last time out, they conceded a late goal that made things more difficult.

So it’s worth exploring the prospects of Arouca getting on the scoresheet for a fourth home game running here. They have notched in four of their first five at home and bagged four last time out and scored twice against a Vitoria Guimaraes side that are only two points behind Sporting in the table.

Both teams have scored in three of Sporting’s five away league games and Arouca’s last three home matches, but the inescapable fact that the hosts have lost their last 12 league and cup matches against the Lions means the recommendation here has to be Sporting to win and BTTS. A 2-1 away victory is preferred because Arouca have conceded 2.2 goals at home this season while Sporting have hit exactly two in their last two away league wins.

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