Nacional vs Sporting CP Prediction and Betting Tips

Nacional will host Sporting CP at the Estadio da Madeira on Saturday in the third round of the 2025-26 Primeira Liga campaign. The hosts will be hoping to get an unlikely result and cause a surprise when they face one of the league's best sides this weekend.

Nacional went down to 10 men in the first half of their 1-1 draw with Rio Ave last time out, but managed to earn their first point of the season courtesy of Jesus Ramirez’s 83rd-minute equalizer. Tiago Margarido’s side struggled for most of last season's league campaign but managed to finish the season seven points clear of the drop zone and will be aiming to push higher up the league table this season.

Sporting Lisbon, on the other hand, kicked off the new campaign with a 2-0 win over Casa Pia before running riot on Arouca in a 6-0 win last weekend. The defending champions, who have not lost a league game since December 2024, will be confident to continue their unbeaten streak this weekend and keep their sights on winning a third consecutive league title by season's end.

Nacional vs Sporting CP Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

The two teams have met on 49 previous occasions going into this weekend's game. Nacional have won four of those games, 14 have ended in draws, while Sporting have won the remaining 31.
The hosts are winless across the last 23 editions of this fixture, with their last win coming in the 2010-11 season.
The visitors have scored a remarkable 15 goals across the last five editions of this fixture.
Nacional are without a clean sheet in their last nine games in this fixture.
Sporting had the best offensive and defensive records in the Portuguese top flight last season and have currently scored the most goals in the division (8) after the first two games of this season.

Nacional vs Sporting CP Prediction

Nacional are considered underdogs going into the weekend and will need something really special to avoid defeat against the defending champions.

The Lions will be confident to get all three points thanks to the gulf in quality between the two sides.

Prediction: Nacional 0-2 Sporting CP

Nacional vs Sporting CP Betting Tips

Tip 1 - Result: Sporting Lisbon to win

Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Nine of the visitors' last 10 games have produced than 2.5 goals)

Tip 3 - Both teams to score: No (Both sides have found the back of the net in just one of the visitors' last seven matches)

About the author

Jedidiah is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda, who has been covering match previews for more than 3 years. Currently pursuing an engineering degree from the University of Ibadan, he conducts thorough research and ensures to be up-to-date with football news across the globe to create the most accurate previews.

A Manchester United fan, Jedidiah fell in love with football and the Red Devils since their UEFA Champions League triumph over Chelsea in 2008. He is a big fan of Robert Lewandowski and his historic performances from 2020, but feels that only Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe are capable of replicating the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry. His all-time favorite manager is Carlo Ancelotti due to the Italian's remarkable composure in difficult moments of a contest. Spain's 1-0 win over Netherlands in the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is etched in his memory forever.

A true student of the game, Jedidiah relishes identifying hidden gems from lower-tiered leagues such as the EFL Championship and the Eredivisie. When not creating previews, he likes playing football and reading books.

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