Sporting Lisbon vs Varzim Predictions

• Varzim are second-bottom of Liga Portugal 2 and their only away win of the season came at fourth-tier Oleiros in a previous round.
  Sporting have won their last seven home Taca de Portugal ties and are unbeaten at home in the competition for nine years.
  Sporting have covered a -2 handicap in four of their last five home cup ties against teams not called Porto or Benfica.

Sporting’s streak set to continue

Sporting Lisbon should dispatch second-tier Varzim from the Taca de Portugal without much of a problem on Thursday before they switch their focus back to the Champions League.

The Portuguese champions have won their last eight matches in a row and have scored in 30 consecutive home matches at the Alvalade, where their  only taste of defeat this season came in their Champions League group opener against Ajax.

Their fortunes in Europe have really turned around since that 5-1 home humbling and Ruben Amorim will want to keep the momentum going into the big showdown with Borussia Dortmund next week.

Varzim shipping goals – even in friendlies

Neto, Coates and Porro are in a race against time to be fit for this clash, but Matheus Nunes and Pablo Sarabia have returned from their respective national teams’ commitments in time to be involved. Manuel Ugarte and Gonçalo Inácio are likely to be absent, however, as their national team games took place just 48 hours ahead of kick-off.

Varzim beat Sporting Braga B, who are playing in Liga 3, 5-3 in a warm-up match used by coach António Barbosa to fill the competitive gap this week. Including that friendly, the Sea Wolves have conceded 14 goals in their last seven games, so there’s every chance Sporting can grab a hatful on Thursday night.

Our selection of Sporting -2 on the handicap looks reasonable given the Lions have covered that margin in four of their last five home cup ties against teams not called Porto or Benfica. Amorim’s side have kept four clean sheets in their last five so a 3-0 scoreline could be on the cards.