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Sporting host Nacional at the Estádio José Alvalade in Portuguese Primera Liga action on Saturday.
The home side are unbeaten in the league this term but have only two wins in their last five outings.
They earned a hard-fought three points in their trip to Braga in their last league game. Matheus Nunes scored the winner in the 81st minute after coming off the bench.
Nacional returned to winning ways after 10 straight losses in the league, recording a 1-0 win over Vitoria at home.
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Sporting vs Nacional Head-to-Head
The two clubs have squared off 39 times across all competitions since 1990. Leões have been the dominant side in this fixture and have taken home the three points 23 times.
They have conceded just two goals in their last nine encounters with the visitors. The last win for Alvinegros in this fixture came in 2011. They have been able to get the better of the capital club just four times so far.
The spoils have been shared 12 times between the two sides. These teams last met at the Estádio da Madeira in January. Sporting recorded a comfortable 2-0 win in that reverse fixture.
Sporting form guide in Primera Liga: W-D-W-D-D
Nacional form guide in Primera Liga: W-L-L-L-L
Sporting vs Nacional Team News
Sporting
Rúben Amorim won't be able to count upon the services of Tiago Tomás and Bruno Tabata on account of ankle and knee injuries respectively.
Antonio Adán is suspended after his fifth yellow card of the campaign. Joining him on the sidelines will be defender Gonçalo Inácio, who received a red card against Braga.
Amorim has been suspended from the sidelines for the last three games and will finally be able to return to the dugout for this encounter.
Injuries: Tiago Tomás, Bruno Tabata
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Antonio Adán, Gonçalo Inácio
Nacional
For the visitors, goalkeeper Daniel Guimarães remains unavailable for the trip to Lisbon. He was recently diagnosed with Cancer and is currently undergoing treatment.
Francisco Ramos, Lucas Kal and Marco Matias have been ruled out with their respective injuries. Pedro Mendes, on loan from Sporting, is ineligible to play against his parent club.
Larry Azouni has been suspended after his 10th yellow card of the campaign. Nuno Borges, on the other hand, returns from a suspension of his own.
Injuries: Francisco Ramos, Lucas Kal, Marco Matias
Doubtful: None
Unavailable: Pedro Mendes, Daniel Guimarães
Suspended: Larry Azouni
Sporting vs Nacional Predicted XI
Sporting Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Luís Maximiano; Zouhair Feddal, Sebastian Coates, Luis Neto; Nuno Mendes, Joao Palhinha, Joao Mario, Pedro Porro; Pedro Goncalves, Matheus Nunes; Paulinho
Nacional Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): António Filipe; Kalindi, Pedro Henrique, Júlio César, Rui Correia; Nuno Borges, Mu'azzam; Vincent Koziello, Joao Camacho, Brayan Riascos; Kenji Gorre
Sporting vs Nacional Prediction
Sporting's dominance has continued in the league, though they have dropped some points recently. Nacional returned to winning ways after 10 games but are likely to come up short in this clash between two sides at opposite ends of the table.
We predict the hosts will record an easy win and the odds of another clean sheet also look good.
Prediction: Sporting 1-0 Nacional
