Sporting Lisbon vs Rio Ave Predictions

• Sporting won their final three home games last season without conceding.
• Sporting have scored exactly three goals in each of their last four competitive games.
• Viktor Gyokeres topped the scoring charts in Portugal last season.

Expect a response from Sporting

Sporting’s season got off to an incredibly disappointing start last weekend and the champions will be looking to put that right when they entertain Rio Ave in the first round of Primeira Liga games.

The Super Cup seemed destined for Lisbon as Sporting opened up an early 3-0 lead against Porto, but they were pegged back and ultimately ended up losing 4-3 in extra time.

Boss Rúben Amorim will be demanding a response from his side on Friday night and he will want to see a much-improved performance at the back, and backing Sporting to win to nil looks a strong play for our main bet.

The Lisbon giants conceded just 11 goals in 17 home league games last season and they managed clean sheets in each of their final three games at the Estádio José Alvalade. Rio Ave have failed to score in their last two trips to this ground and in five of their last six overall against Sporting, so a home win to nil looks a good way to get a bit of value out of backing the clear favourites.

Sporting have scored exactly three goals in four of their last five games so a 3-0 win for the hosts looks a reasonable correct score prediction. Viktor Gyokeres was the top scorer in Portugal’s top flight last season with 29 goals and he can open his account for the season after a solid display against Porto, where he failed to score but did record two assists.

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