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

Still reeling from last weekend’s shock defeat by Casa Pia, Primeira Liga leaders Porto welcome defending champions Sporting Lisbon to the Estadio do Dragao in Monday’s top-of-the-table clash.

Separated by four points in the table, something has to give in this round 21 contest: Porto are unbeaten at home this season, while Sporting are yet to suffer a league loss on their travels heading into the headline fixture of the gameweek.

Match preview

Despite their position atop the standings, the mood among Portistas this week must have been one of frustration after a surprising 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Casapianos, the team’s first setback of 2025-26 in an otherwise impressive campaign.

That loss lifted the victors out of the relegation zone, while Porto saw their seemingly healthy seven-point advantage cut to four ahead of this round’s visit of fierce rivals and defending champions Sporting.

While defeat on Monday will not see the home side lose their status at the division’s summit, a second league setback would leave them looking over their shoulders if their advantage is whittled down to a single point.

It is for that reason that the unforeseen slip-up at Casa Pia was especially unwelcome for Francesco Farioli’s men, who now seek to respond to that disappointment by returning to winning ways at the Dragao.

Indeed, this season’s precedent suggests that Portistas ought to demand maximum points, particularly as they have claimed 25 points from a possible 27 in home games, scoring 19 and conceding only two goals in those nine matches.

Given their strong season thus far, another home victory would restore a healthy lead and have the club’s fans dreaming of a 31st Liga crown, and a first since the 2021-22 campaign.

Sporting, for their part, will welcome the opportunity presented to them by Casapianos shocking Farioli’s side last time out, as they look to inflict back-to-back league defeats on Porto for the first time since the Dragons suffered 2-0 and 3-1 reverses against Nacional and Gil Vicente in January 2025.

Such an outcome would not only bring the visitors closer to the league leaders with 13 games remaining, but also avenge their 2-1 loss in the reverse fixture in Lisbon — the Lions’ only defeat in 25-26.

Since that August setback, Rui Borges’s troops have claimed 13 Liga wins from their 16 games in the top flight, only dropping points in 1-1 draws with Braga, Benfica and Gil Vicente to position themselves as Porto’s main challengers, with Benfica — the third of the Big Three — a significant nine points adrift.

Given their status as two-time defending champions, Borges’s team will be fully aware of the significance of winning at the Dragao, where the Lions are winless in the Liga since April 2016.

Although nine trips since that 3-1 triumph have seen Sporting fall to five defeats, eagle-eyed fans will point out that all four draws secured during that period have come in the past five visits, including back-to-back stalemates in 2023-24 and 2024-25, suggesting that they are edging closer to a fifth league win at Porto in recorded history.

Having avoided defeat in 10 away league matches this season, winning eight, Borges’s men will hope to notch a ninth at the Dragao to turn up the heat on their rivals as they look to keep hopes of a third straight title — and 22nd overall — very much alive.

Porto Primeira Liga form:

Porto form (all competitions):

Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form:

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

Team News

William Gomes will miss Monday’s showdown due to his sending-off in gameweek 20’s loss at Casa Pia, the first of several absences.

While Tomas Perez’s Achilles tendon issue will be assessed, Nehuen Perez, Seko Fofana (calf) and Luuk de Jong are not expected to feature against Sporting.

With 13 league goals, Samu Aghehowa has contributed to 31.7% of Porto’s strikes, and the forward aims to add to his tally in round 21.

Notably, six of Samu’s 13 goals have been match-winners, highlighting his decisiveness, while eight of his overall tally have come at the Dragao, indicating where he does most of his damage.

The away side’s leading threat is undeniably Luis Suarez, who has netted 18 league goals — one fewer than Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis — with six of the Sporting forward’s strikes coming on the road.

With two more game-deciding goals than Aghehowa, Suarez — currently tied with Pavlidis on eight match-winners — bids to edge ahead in that mini-race by scoring another decisive effort at the Dragão.

The visitors possess additional threats: Francisco Trincao and Pedro Goncalves have created 11 and nine big chances respectively this season, ranking them first and third in the division, with Trincao assisting a league-high seven goals to Goncalves’s five, underlining their creative influence.

The visitors are also dealing with some injury problems: Geovany Quenda (foot), Fotis Ioannidis (knee) and Zeno Debast are sidelined.

Porto possible starting lineup:

D. Costa; A. Costa, Silva, Kiwior, Fernandes; Frendrup, Rosario, Veiga; Pepe, Aghehowa, Sainz

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Silva; Fresneda, Diomande, Inacio, Araujo; Morita, Hjulmand; Catamo, Trincao, Goncalves; Suarez