Benfica vs Sporting Lisbon Predictions

• Sporting have kept four clean sheets in their last six matches
• Sporting’s only defeat in eight away games this season came at Napoli
• Both teams have scored in just two of Benfica’s last nine matches

Benfica struggling against top-class foes

Benfica have yet to be beaten in this season’s Primeira Liga, but Friday’s derby clash against Sporting could bring that run to an end.

Despite their unbeaten record, the Eagles are third after 12 rounds of fixtures, and they have drawn four matches, so things have not gone as well as they might have done.

Their shortcomings have been illustrated more in the Champions League where they failed to score in games against Chelsea, Newcastle and Bayer Leverkusen and even lost to Qarabag before beating out-of-sorts Ajax last week.

That does not bode well for a visit from a team who have won ten of their 12 league matches.

Sporting’s defence can hold firm

Sporting have shown great defensive quality recently, conceding just two goals in their last seven outings and they can keep Benfica at bay, especially as the Eagles musters an expected-goals (xG) figure of just 0.1 in a goalless draw against top-of-the-table Porto.

The visitors ahve scored 11 goals in their last four matches, conceding a solitary goal, and have lost just one of their last six games against Benfica, to take a chance on an away win, with correct-score enthusiasts pointed to a 2-0 Sporting success.