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Vitoria de Guimaraes
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 7
Nov 7, 2020 at 8.30pm UK
Estadio D Afonso Henriques
Sporting Lisbon

Guimaraes
0 - 4
Sporting Lisbon


Agu (3'), Andre (39'), Suliman (42')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Santos (11'), Goncalves (43', 55'), Cabral (75')
Porro (39')

Preview: Vitoria de Guimaraes vs. Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, form guide

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Primeira Liga clash between Vitoria de Guimaraes and Sporting Lisbon, including predictions, team news and form guides.

Primeira Liga leaders Sporting Lisbon travel to the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques to face sixth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes on Saturday evening.

The visitors have set the early pace in Portugal's top flight, but know that there is little margin for error with rivals Benfica hot on their heels.


Match preview

A general shot of Vitoria de Guimaraes vs. Sporting Lisbon in June 2020© Reuters

Not since 2001-02 have Sporting Lisbon been crowned champions of Portugal - a longer wait than anyone expected for one of the nation's 'big three' clubs. However, their start to this season has raised hope that this could finally be their year.

Ruben Amorim's side are the only team still unbeaten in the top flight after six games, dropping only two points from the 18 on offer to get their noses in front of Benfica.

There is still a long way to go, of course, but Sporting have also scored the joint-most goals in the division this season and boast the best overall goal difference too - all signs which point to them being a match for the teams they finished behind last term.

A draw with champions Porto, whom they finished 22 points adrift of last season, accounts for their only dropped points so far, most recently sweeping Tondela aside with a 4-0 victory last weekend.

An exit from the Champions League in the qualifying stages also means that they only have domestic matters to focus on this season, which with such a congested fixture schedule could give them an edge over the likes of Benfica and Porto.

Guimaraes will certainly not be pushovers, though; they have picked up 10 points from their six games so far to sit level with Porto, albeit outside the European places due to their inferior goal difference.

A change of manager just three games into the campaign saw Joao Henriques take the reins from the short-lasting Tiago less than a month ago, and he has since led his new side to two wins and one loss.

There is certainly nothing wrong defensively - Guimaraes are the only team to have conceded fewer goals than Sporting this season, shipping only three in their six outings - but at the other end they have netted only four times.

Indeed, last week's 2-1 win at Gil Vicente was the first time this season that they have netted more than once in a game, and they have not managed that at home since June.

Saturday's hosts have only found the back of the net once in their three home games this term too, so hopes may not be too high for a free-scoring thriller this weekend.

Vitoria de Guimaraes Primeira Liga form: LDWWLW

Sporting Lisbon Primeira Liga form: WWDWWW
Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions): LWDWWW


Team News

Sporting Lisbon manager Ruben Amorim pictured in October 2020© Reuters

Vitoria de Guimaraes

Out: Jorge Fernandes (suspended), Alhassan Wakaso (knee)
Doubtful: Lyle Foster (muscle), Matheus Mascarenhas (knee)

Sporting Lisbon

Out: Bruno Tabata (muscle), Vitorino Antunes (thigh)


SM words green background

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 0-2 Sporting Lisbon

A match that pits the league's two best defences against each other is never likely to be too high scoring, but Sporting also boast the joint-best attacking record whereas Vitoria's threat at the other end is much blunter. We are expecting the leaders to pick up another three points here.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data

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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sporting Lisbon win with a probability of 41.14%. A win for Vitoria de Guimaraes had a probability of 30.96% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sporting Lisbon win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.27%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.33%) and 0-2 (7.82%). The likeliest Vitoria de Guimaraes win was 1-0 (10.27%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.08%). The actual scoreline of 0-4 was predicted with a 1.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Sporting Lisbon would win this match.


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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sporting Lisbon25212275255065
2Benfica26204260213964
3Porto26184450183258
4Braga26165555342153
5Vitoria de GuimaraesGuimaraes26155641271450
6MoreirenseMoreirense2612682827142
7AroucaArouca26104124337634
8FamalicaoFamalicao2561092430-628
9Gil Vicente2677123539-428
10BoavistaBoavista2677123351-1828
11Casa Pia2676132339-1627
12SC FarenseFarense2676133438-427
13Estrela Amadora2668122639-1326
14Estoril PraiaEstoril2674154249-725
15Rio AveRio Ave2641392635-925
16PortimonensePortimonense2665152453-2923
17Vizela2649132652-2621
18ChavesChaves2647152556-3119


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