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Farense and Sporting Lisbon will trade tackles on Friday, with three points at stake in the Portuguese Primeira Liga.
The hosts come into this game on the back of a 1-0 defeat away to Maritimo. A first-half strike by Ali Alipour was enough to give Maritimo all three points.
Sporting Lisbon played out a 1-1 draw at home to Famalicao. The hosts had initially taken the lead through Pedro Concalves but Anderson equalized two minutes later to ensure that both sides shared the spoils.
Despite the setback, Sporting are still unbeaten at the summit of the table but saw their lead over Porto reduced to six points. Farense are at the other end of the spectrum, with three points separating them from safety.
Farense vs Sporting Lisbon Head-to-Head
This will be the seventh meeting between the sides in the last two decades. As expected, Sporting Lisbon have the better record with five wins, while Farense have a sole victory to their name.
Their most recent meeting came on 19 December 2020, when a late penalty by Andras Sporar helped Sporting Lisbon pick up a 1-0 win.
The hosts are currently on a poor run of form that has seen them win just one of their eight games. Sporting Lisbon might be unbeaten, but their two consecutive draws have seen the chasing pack close the gap on them.
Farense form guide: L-L-W-L-L
Sporting Lisbon form guide: D-D-W-W-W
Farense vs Sporting Lisbon Team News
Farense
The hosts don't have any suspension or injury concerns and manager Jorge Costa has a relatively full squad to choose from.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Sporting Lisbon
The visitors also have a clean bill of health heading into this clash.
Injuries: None
Suspension: None
Farense vs Sporting Lisbon Predicted XI
Farense Predicted XI (4-4-2): Beto (GK); Abner Felipe, Eduardo Mancha, Cesar Martins, Tomas Tavares; Bilel Aouacheria, Ryan Gauld, Amine Idrissi, Jonathan Lucca; Madi Queta, Pedro Henrique
Sporting Lisbon Predicted XI (3-5-2): Antonio Adan (GK); Zouhair Feddal, Sebastian Coates, Luis Neto; Nuno Mendes, Pedro Concalves, Joao Palhinha, Joao Mario, Pedro Porro; Paulinho, Tiago Tomas
Farense vs Sporting Lisbon Prediction
Sporting Lisbon are on track for a maiden league title in over two decades. With Porto in rampant form, any further slip-ups by the capital side could be punished.
Sporting Lisbon's conservative approach means that goals come at a premium when they are involved. Meanwhile, Farense's goal-shy nature means that this could be a low-scoring affair.
We are predicting a narrow victory for the visitors alongside a clean sheet.
Prediction: Farense 0-1 Sporting Lisbon
