Sporting Lisbon vs Rio Ave Predictions

Sporting can win in style

Sporting have won eight of their last ten Primeira Liga home games and three of their seven home league games this season have finished with over 3.5 goals. A Sporting win and over 3.5 goals looks the likely outcome when they host Rio Ave on Sunday at Estadio Jose Alvalade.

They are second in the league, eight places and 21 points above Rio Ave. The hosts have won 12, drawn two and lost one of their 15 games this season, while Rio Ave have three wins, eight draws and four defeats.

Sporting maintained their winning habit with a 4-1 victory over Guimaraes in their last Primeira Liga game on Tuesday. Trincao scored the opening goal of the game on 32 minutes, with Fotis Ioannidis and Maxi Araujo also notching.

No team has scored more Primeira Liga goals this season than Sporting’s 42 in 15 games, and they have been racking up the goals in recent matches, scoring three or more goals in three of their last four.

The Sporting defence has kept things tight this season, conceding just three goals in seven Primeira Liga home games – an average of 0.43 goals per game. They have not shipped a goal in six of their last eight on home turf.

Sporting have been in excellent form, going nine of their last 11 Primeira Liga games without defeat, and enjoying three straight successes at home. They last tasted defeat in August, when they lost to Porto, and have only lost one of their last ten home league games against Rio Ave.

Rio Ave’s struggles on the road continue, with no win in five of their last six Primeira Liga games away from home.

They have been vulnerable defensively recently, conceding on each of their last four Primeira Liga away games and failing to keep a clean sheet in 17 of their last 20 league matches.

Over 3.5 goals has been a winning bet in five of Sporting’s 15 Primeira Liga games this season, with three of their last four going over 3.5 goals. Three of Rio Ave’s eight away league matches have ended with four goals or more. There were over 3.5 goals in both teams’ last Primeira Liga games.

A 3-1 home win for Sporting is an appealing correct-score bet. Rio Ave have played more Primeira Liga games this season in which both teams have found the net than any other team, and Sporting’s last two league victories have been by at least a two-goal margin.

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Edited by Mark Langdon