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Rio Ave will entertain Sporting at the Estádio dos Arcos in the second group-stage game of the Taca da Liga on Wednesday.
Both teams got their campaigns underway with wins. Rio Ave defeated Maritimo 1-0 in their away game, thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Aderlan Leandro de Jesus Santos.
Sporting recorded a comfortable 6-0 win over Farense at home last week, scoring three goals in either half. Paulinho opened the scoring with a quick-fire brace in two minutes, while Marcus Edwards, Pedro Goncalves, Arthur, and Mateus Fernandes added goals later in the game.
Both teams have endured similar results in their last five games, winning four of them and suffering a defeat. As only one team from each group will qualify for the next round, the winner of this match will be able to take a big step towards qualification.
Rio Ave vs Sporting Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have crossed paths 61 times across all competitions. As expected, Sporting have been the better side in these meetings, enjoying a 38-8 lead in wins while 15 games have ended in draws.
- They have met four times in the Taca da Liga thus far and interestingly, the hosts have been the better team in those meetings. They have a couple of wins to their name, while Sporting have just one win and one game has ended in a draw.
- Rio Ave's last win against the Lisbon giants at home came in the Primeira Liga 2016-17 campaign when they defeated them 3-1.
- Sporting are in fourth place in the Primeira Liga standings with 25 points to their name while Rio Ave are in 10th place with 18 points. Sporting have outscored the hosts 26-16 in the 13 league games thus far.
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Rio Ave vs Sporting Prediction
The hosts have seen their last five games across all competitions ending in 1-0 scorelines, with four wins and a defeat in these games. They failed to score in their Primeira Liga game against Sporting in August and will be looking to find the back of the net in this encounter.
Leões have seen over 2.5 goals in four of their last six games across all competitions and scored six times in their previous Taca da Liga game last week. Sporting fielded an almost-full-strength squad for the previous game and are expected to do the same here. With that in mind, they are expected to pick up a comfortable win.
Prediction: Rio Ave 1-2 Sporting
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Rio Ave vs Sporting Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Sporting
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5
Tip 3: Sporting to score first - Yes
Tip 4: At least one goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
