Sporting Lisbon vs Pacos Ferreira Predictions

• Sporting have won their last two home games 5-0, including against fourth-placed Braga in the league cup.
• Pacos Ferreira sit bottom of the table, have no permanent manager and just lost 2-0 to Braga in the league cup.
• Sporting have won their last four home league games with at least four goals in three of them.

Sporting can get their teeth into plunging Pacos

Sporting will be keen to reignite their underwhelming league campaign with a big home win against bottom-placed Pacos Ferreira on Thursday. Ruben Amorim’s side warmed up for the return to Primeira Liga action with a 5-0 home thrashing of fourth-placed Braga in the league cup, which came days after they had mauled Maritimo by the same scoreline at the Alvalade.

Braga’s line-up that day was full of first-team stars, unlike a few days before when they had beaten the Beavers 2-0 at home in the same competition, so it appears a landslide defeat should be expected here with Sporting due to be at full strength.

Pacos Ferreira have no coach at the moment after sacking Jose Mota last week and, although overtures have been made to get Cesar Peixoto back, it looks like interim boss Marco Paiva will be in charge for this game.

Beavers bereft of hope as striker exits

The Beavers will be without two first-team players, left-back Luis Bastos and midfielder Abbas Ibrahim, through injury while striker N’Dri Koffi has returned to France from his six-month loan spell. Other players are rumoured to be leaving and, from the outside, it would seem that morale in the camp is on the floor.

So this contest could follow a similar pattern to the last few Sporting home league games in which the hosts have scored at least three goals each time and ran out easy winners. They have won with at least four goals in the game in three of their last four at the Alvalade and that seems like it could happen again this week.

A 4-0 scoreline is preferred in correct score betting as it would replicate the score when Pacos visited Porto back in November. The Beavers have not scored in each of their last six head-to-head meetings with the Lisbon club.

*To use the Live Streaming service you will need to be logged in and have a funded account or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours