Preview: Estrela Amadora vs Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, lineups

Sporting Lisbon will look to begin their 2026-27 Primeira Liga campaign with a victory when they travel to face Estrela Amadora at Estadio Jose Gomes on Saturday.

The Lions are aiming to bounce back from a disappointing end to last season, while the Tricolours will be targeting a more comfortable battle for survival this term.

Match preview

Sporting's 2025-26 campaign ended in major disappointment after the Lions saw their hopes of securing silverware across three competitions disappear during the final weeks of the season.
Rui Borges's side - though not considered favourites to progress - exited the Champions League at the quarter-final following a narrow aggregate defeat to Arsenal before seeing their hopes of winning a third consecutive Primeira Liga title disappear even before the final matchday.
Sporting eventually overtook city rivals Benfica to finish second in the Primeira Liga table and secure Champions League football after ending the league campaign with three consecutive victories, but the season still concluded on a disappointing note.
Indeed, Borges's men suffered one of the biggest shocks in Portuguese football history by losing the Taca de Portugal final to second-tier Torreense, meaning the Lions ended the campaign without a trophy.
Looking determined to correct last season's shortcomings, Sporting appear well prepared for the new campaign after recording victories in all four of their pre-season friendlies, defeating Celtic (4-1), Strasbourg (7-0), Monaco (2-0) and Nottingham Forest (4-1).
The Lions will be confident of carrying that impressive form into Saturday's opener, having won each of their last 13 competitive meetings with Estrela while keeping clean sheets in each of the most recent three, including last season's 5-0 aggregate victory across both league encounters.
Meanwhile, Estrela have found themselves involved in relegation battles during each of the last two seasons, finishing 15th on both occasions, with their survival last term secured thanks to a superior head-to-head record over Casa Pia, who occupied the playoff position.
The Tricolours endured a difficult second half of the 2025-26 campaign, winning just one of their final 13 matches and failing to record a victory in their last seven (D2, L5), before Cristiano Bacci departed the club at the end of the season.
Appointed on June 12, Pepa has enjoyed a positive start to his tenure with the Riboleira outfit, winning four of his six pre-season friendlies, including a 4-2 victory over Al Nassr in their final warm-up fixture.
However, Estrela collected only 18 points from 17 home league matches last season, and improving that record will be a key objective this term, with results at Estadio Jose Gomes likely to play a major role in their survival hopes.

Estrela Amadora Primeira Liga form:

Estrela Amadora form (all competitions):

Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form:

Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):

Team News

Sporting have experienced significant changes to their squad during the summer, with former captain Morten Hjulmand joining Atletico Madrid, last season's top assist provider Francisco Trincao moving to Al Hilal and Geovany Quenda completing a permanent switch to Chelsea among several departures.
The Lisbon giants have also strengthened their squad by signing Rodrigo Zalazar from Braga in a record transfer between two Portuguese clubs, while Ibrahim Ba, Sergi Altimira and Issa Doumbia have arrived from Famalicao, Real Betis and Venezia respectively among other additions.
No player scored more Primeira Liga goals than Luis Suarez last season, with the Colombian striker finding the net 28 times in the league and 38 across all competitions, making him the main attacking threat to watch this weekend.
Estrela have also undergone a major squad rebuild, with Jovane Cabral, Paulo Moreira and Semeu Commey among the numerous players to depart during the summer transfer window.
The Tricolours have responded by bringing in several new faces, including Rafa Soares and Lovro Zvonarek on loan, while Stefan Lekovic's temporary move was made permanent.

Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:

Grilo; Scholze, L Patrick, Schappo, R Soares; Doue, Serra; Marcus, Zvonarek, Stoica; Antonetti

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:

Silva; Vagiannidis, Quaresma, Inacio, Fresneda; Altimira, Andersen; Catamo, Zalazar, Doumbia; Suarez

We say: Estrela Amadora 0-3 Sporting Lisbon

Despite losing several important players during the summer, Sporting still possess superior quality compared to their hosts, and their impressive pre-season form suggests they are ready to begin the campaign strongly.

Estrela's home record remains a concern, and we expect the reigning Portuguese giants to claim a comfortable victory at Estadio Jose Gomes.
 

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