Preview: Arouca vs Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, lineups

Second-placed Sporting Lisbon have the opportunity to reduce their deficit to the Primeira Liga summit, at least temporarily, as they travel to face Arouca this weekend.

The Lions, who are currently seven points adrift of Porto in the Portuguese top-flight table, enter this encounter two days before the league leaders contest their own matchday 19 fixture against Gil Vicente.

Match preview

Sporting ended 2025 with four straight victories across all competitions, but did not enjoy the best start to the new year, failing to win their opening two matches, including a semi-final elimination at the hands of Vitoria de Guimaraes in the Taca da Liga.

However, Rui Borges’s men appear to have rediscovered their spark, having recorded back-to-back triumphs, the most recent being an impressive 2-1 Champions League success over current holders Paris Saint-Germain in midweek.

A Luis Suarez header deep into stoppage time – his second goal of the night – proved decisive at Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday, ensuring the Lions secured at least a knockout playoff spot while also extending their winning streak at the ground to eight matches.

That sequence also includes a 3-0 Primeira Liga victory over Casa Pia four days earlier, serving as a fitting response from Sporting, who slipped up in their previous league outing, where they settled for a share of the spoils at Gil.

On a broader view, though, collecting 14 wins from their opening 18 fixtures (D3, L1) in the top-flight campaign suggests it has not been the worst title defence for the two-peat champions.

Unbeaten on the road in the Primeira Liga this season, the Lions have claimed victory in seven of their nine away matches (D2), and they will head into Saturday’s contest confident of success, backed by a formidable attack that has produced a league-high 50 goals and a defence that has conceded just nine.

Arouca are expected to struggle against the visitors’ quality at both ends of the pitch, having let in 42 league goals this season, with only bottom-placed AVS shipping more, while the Wolves have been decent going forward with 19 goals scored.

Such records do not offer much conviction heading into Saturday, especially considering Lobos face the same opposition that handed them their heaviest defeat in over three years, having suffered a 6-0 hammering at Sporting in the reverse, marking a fourth loss in the last five encounters between the sides (D1).

Despite their poor head-to-head history, Vasco Seabra’s men take some encouragement from last weekend’s 1-0 victory away to 10-man AVS, which brought an end to a three-match winless run (D1, L2), with Ivan Barbero’s 42nd-minute strike proving decisive.

The Wolves have now picked up points in four of their last five league games (W2, D2), a notable improvement on the five-match losing streak that preceded it, lifting them three points clear of the relegation playoff position.

That upturn has also seen Arouca avoid defeat in their last two home matches, after losing four of the previous five (D1), and Lobos will hope that resilience counts for something on Saturday, even though they have managed just nine points from a possible 27 on their own turf this term.

Arouca Primeira Liga form:

Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form:

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

Team News

Arouca remain without midfielder Pedro Santos and attacker Dylan Nandín, both of whom missed the previous outing due to fitness issues.

Centre-backs Boris Popovic and Omar Fayed, along with first-choice goalkeeper Nico Mantl, were also absent last weekend, while Arnau Sola has now missed the last two matches, leaving his availability uncertain once again.

Last time out, Ignacio de Arruabarrena made his debut after rejoining the club on January 13 and could start in goal for a second consecutive match, while club captain David Simao has brought his second spell at Arouca to an end after departing earlier this week.

Sporting will continue without striker Fotis Ioannidis and defender Eduardo Quaresma, both of whom were forced off during the Taca da Liga defeat to Vitoria de Guimaraes on January 6.

Nuno Santos, Geovany Quenda and Pedro Goncalves remain sidelined through injury, while Ousmane Diomande could miss a third straight match since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations.

On a positive note, left-back Maximiliano Araujo and captain Morten Hjulmand return after serving suspensions last weekend, while new signing Luis Guilherme is also back in contention after missing the PSG clash due to ineligibility in Europe.

Suarez has now scored 10 goals across his last eight appearances and will be full of confidence as he looks to add to his tally of 15 league strikes, leaving him two behind Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis in the Golden Boot race.

Arouca possible starting lineup:

Arruabarrena; Sanchez, Kuipa, Rocha, Esgaio; Van Ea, Lee; Djouahra, Fukui, Trezza; Barbero

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Silva; Fresneda, Diamonde, Inacio, Mangas; Simoes, Hjulmand; Catamo, Trincao, Guilherme; Suarez

We say: Arouca 1-3 Sporting Lisbon

Arouca enter this encounter with improved momentum and fresher legs, which may make the contest more demanding than expected for the visitors.

However, Sporting possess superior squad depth and quality and should still find a way to claim all three points, knowing that any further slip-up would cast a darker cloud over their title ambitions.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.