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

Reigning champions Sporting Lisbon aim to maintain their perfect start to the Primeira Liga when they travel to Nacional this Saturday for matchday three action.

The Lions have opened the campaign with back-to-back wins and now look to stretch their momentum against the Funchal outfit, who are still struggling to find their feet.

Match preview

Sporting seem to have quickly adjusted to life after the departure of striker Viktor Gyokeres, with their opening victories coming in convincing fashion.

Doubts were raised over the Lions’s ability to defend the crown after drawing a blank against city rivals Benfica in the Super Cup, but they have since silenced those concerns by finding the net eight times in their first two league games.

A 2-0 win at Casa Pia on the opening day was followed by a 6-0 demolition of Arouca, where winger Francisco Trincao and full-back Ricardo Mangas both struck twice, though most pleasing to the Lisbon faithful would have been seeing their new signing, Luis Suarez, beginning to step into the big shoes left by the club’s former marksman.

Having opened his account with a brace last weekend, the Colombian will stride onto the pitch brimming with confidence against a side his team have beaten in each of the last eight meetings across all competitions, seven of which came in the league.

Adding to the visitors’ belief is their fine record on the road, with five successive away wins in the Primeira Liga stretching back to last season.

That leaves Saturday’s fixture looking all the more daunting for Nacional, who have been unable to shake off their struggles from the previous campaign.

Tiago Margarido’s men have now gone eight Primeira Liga matches without victory, a sequence that includes four defeats and three stalemates.

However, there was some encouragement last weekend when the White-Blacks, reduced to 10 men, fought back from an early setback to snatch a 1-1 draw at Rio Ave through Chuchu Ramirez’s 83rd-minute strike.

One pressing concern for Margarido is his side’s sluggish starts, with Nacional having trailed at half-time in each of their last five top-flight outings, and he must now find a solution to that recurring weakness this weekend.

Nacional Primeira Liga form:

Nacional form (all competitions):

Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form:

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

Team News

Ulisses Wilson was dismissed against Rio Ave and is suspended for this match, paving the way for Léo Santos to slot into the back line.

Nacional are also hit by injuries, with Ivanildo Fernandes, Douglas Nathan, Motez Nourani, Miguel Baeza, Deivison and Lucas Joao all sidelined.

Sporting are not without concerns of their own, as Ousmane Diomande, Daniel Braganca, Maxi Araujo and Nuno Santos are all unavailable through fitness issues.

Meanwhile, Matheus Reis also misses out as he serves a five-match suspension following disciplinary sanctions.

While Suarez is virtually undroppable after his starring role against Arouca, Geovany Quenda is pushing for a place in the starting eleven, having made an impact off the bench with a couple of assists.

Nacional possible starting lineup:

Franca; Gomes, Vítor, Santos, Aurelio; Silva, Dias, Soares; Boia, Ramirez, Witi

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Silva; Mangas, Inacio, Debast, Fresneda; Hjulmand, Morita; Trincao, Pote, Catamo; Suarez

We say: Nacional 0-2 Sporting Lisbon

Sporting head into this contest as clear favourites in both form and head-to-head record, and anything short of a dominant win would be a shock, especially given their defensive steel, with two clean sheets from their opening fixtures.

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