Sporting Lisbon will host Amarante at the Jose Alvalade on Friday in another round of the 2024-25 Taca de Portugal campaign. The home side are set to begin life under new boss Joao Pereira this weekend following the departure of former head coach Ruben Amorim to Manchester United and will be looking to pick up where they left off in the previous regime.
They locked horns with Portimonense in the previous round of the tournament and picked up a 2-1 win, with summer signing Conrad Harder opening the scoring in the first half before netting a late winner minutes after the Alvinegros' leveler.
Amarante have performed brilliantly upon promotion to the Portuguese third tier this season and will be looking to carry that momentum into the domestic cup this week. They saw off Fafe and Electrico in the first two rounds of the tournament before thrashing AD Lajense 6-1 in the last round featuring a superb first-half hat-trick from Ka Semedo.
The visitors are now set to take on one of the nation's powerhouses on Friday and are expected to give a good account of themselves on hostile ground.
Sporting vs Amarante Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- Friday's game will mark the first-ever meeting between Sporting and Amarante.
- The visitors' last meeting against top-flight opposition came back in January when they faced Gil Vicente in the Taca de Portugal, losing the fifth-round clash 3-1.
- The Lions are without a clean sheet in their last four games across all competitions.
- Two of Amarante's three league defeats this season have come on the road.
Sporting vs Amarante Prediction
Sporting will head into the weekend clash as overwhelming favorites after winning their last eight games on the bounce including a stunning 4-1 victory over Premier League giants Manchester City. Head coach Joao Pereira will aim to hit the ground running and will expect a dominant performance from his men.
Amarante's latest result ended a three-game winning streak and they will want to put out a response here. They are, however, coming up against one of the most in-form sides in Europe and should lose this one.
Prediction: Sporting Lisbon 4-0 Amarante
Sporting vs Amarante Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Sporting Lisbon to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Over 2.5 goals (Each of the hosts' last five matches have produced more than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just two of the hosts' last eight matches)