Preview: Casa Pia vs. Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, lineups

Both Casa Pia and Sporting Lisbon will be looking to make it two wins from two at the start of the Primeira Liga season when they clash at the Estadio Pina Manique on Friday evening.

The hosts got off to a flying start to the campaign, and they currently occupy second place, while the visitors are in sixth after a hard-fought victory on the opening day.

Match preview

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Indeed, Casa Pia could hardly have asked for a better start to the 2023-24 season, kicking off with a 3-0 win away at Farense, with Clayton, Pablo Roberto and Godwin Saviour getting on the scoresheet to secure a comprehensive victory.

Filipe Martins's side had more possession and over twice as many shots on targets than their newly-promoted opponents, but they face a far more difficult task on Friday night.

The Geese have lost all three of their previous matches against their opponents this Friday, although the games have normally been close, only narrowly losing in a 4-3 thriller at the Estadio Pina Manique in the last encounter.

Casa Pia could not be in better form heading into the game, however, having also won their two Taco de Liga games so far this season, recording 2-0 victories against Vilaverdense and Torrense, meaning they are yet to concede a goal this term.

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Unlike their opponents, who finished in 10th place last season, Sporting Lisbon were once again challenging near the top of the table in the 2022-23 campaign, ultimately coming in fourth place, 13 points behind eventual-winners Benfica.

However, Ruben Amorim will be hoping his side can go one step further and challenge for the league title this time around, and his team had a solid pre-season, defeating the likes of Villarreal and Real Sociedad.

In fact, the Lions only lost one of their seven friendly matches, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat against Everton at the beginning of August, but they have since bounced back with a victory.

Last time out, in their first Primeira Liga match, Sporting ran out 3-2 winners against Vizela in what proved to be a difficult game, because they did not make life easy for themselves.

The Green and Whites raced into a 2-0 lead in the first half, with new signing Viktor Gyokeres scoring his first competitive goals for the club, but Vizela roared back to level it up at 2-2, and Amorim's side needed a 98th-minute Paulinho winner to secure the three points.

Team News

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Casa Pia are set to be without Rafael Brito, with the midfielder missing the last five games due to injury, while long-term absentee Kiki is still unavailable, having not been named in the squad since March.

After the well-earned victory against Farense, Martins is likely to stick with the same team, although wing-backs Leonardo Lelo and Gaizka Larrazabal may be encouraged to take on some more defensive responsibilities in what should be a 3-4-3 system.

Sporting also adopted a 3-4-3 formation in their 3-2 victory against Vizela, with summer signing Gyokeres leading the line, and the former Coventry City man should be a sure-fire starter, having scored a brace last time out.

However, Paulinho could be brought in at right-wing, given that he scored the last-minute winner against Vizela, with Trincao potentially dropping to the bench.

Jeremiah St Juste is set to miss out due to a muscle injury, while Nuno Santos is unavailable due to an ankle problem, which has ruled him out of the last three games.

Casa Pia possible starting lineup:

Batista; Fernandes, Varela, Zolotic; Larrazabal, Neto, Beni, Lelo; Soma, Saviour, Clayton

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Adan; Diomande, Coates, Inacio; Catamo, Braganca, Morita, Reis; Paulinho, Goncalves, Gyokeres

We say: Casa Pia 1-2 Sporting Lisbon

Although they found it tough against Vizela on the opening day of the season, Sporting Lisbon's quality ultimately shone through, and they were able to pick up all three points.

Casa Pia will be no pushovers, given that they have made a great start to the campaign, but we expect the visitors to record a narrow victory.

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