Although Sporting Lisbon are not in contention for the Primeira Liga title themselves, they can still play a huge role in deciding where that trophy ends up. If they beat their bitter rivals Benfica in The Derby de Lisboa on Saturday evening and Porto beat Feirense at home the following night, Porto will leapfrog Benfica at the top of the table with just 4 games left to play. The chance to scupper their city rivals title chances should provide buckets of extra motivation for Jorge Jesus team.
Benfica have lost just 2 Primeira Liga games all season, though both of those defeats came on the road. Their recent form has been patchy, to say the least, and just 3 wins from their last 7 in all competitions has shaken their confidence a little. Their last Liga defeat was all the way back in January however.
When the sides met in early December, Benfica recorded a narrow 2-1 victory over Sporting Lisbon helped by goals from Eduardo Salvio and Raul Jimenez. Sporting Lisbon have lost just once at home in the league all season. Read our Sporting Lisbon vs Benfica betting tips and match prediction below.
Saturday’s game between Sporting Lisbon and Benfica should prove to be one of the tensest Portuguese fixtures of the entire 2016/17 season. Sporting are secure in 3rd position, regardless of the outcome of the game they will remain there, but they have an enormous opportunity to ruin their bitter rival’s season. That provides huge motivation against a Benfica side who will surely be a bag of nerves. For that reason, I think Sporting Lisbon will win.
William Hill have odds of 9/2 for Sporting Lisbon to win and both teams to score – that’s where my money will be going. Dutch striker Bas Dost has scored an incredible 10 goals in his last 6 games for Sporting and you can get odds of 6/5 for him to score anytime again on Saturday.