Rio Ave vs Sporting Lisbon Prediction and Betting Tips | January 18th 2025
Rio Ave will face Sporting at the Estadio dos Arcos on Saturday in another round of the 2024-25 Primeira Liga campaign. The home side endured a difficult start to their season but have found their feet in recent games and are pushing for the top half of the pile under new head coach Petit.
They played out a 1-1 draw against Gil Vicente in their last league outing, heading into the break a goal down before former Nottingham Forest man Brandon Aguilera levelled the scores at the hour mark. They then beat Casa Pia 3-1 in the domestic cup at the weekend and will head into Saturday's game on a high.
Sporting, meanwhile, have had mixed results and performances over the past couple of weeks as they continue to adapt to life after Ruben Amorim. They played out an end-to-end 4-4 draw against Vitoria last time out in the league before turning their attention to the Taca da Liga action last week where they would ultimately lose on penalties to rivals Benfica in the final.
The champions have, however, returned to the top of the Primeira Liga table following recent slip ups from fellow title contenders and will be looking to strengthen their grip at the top this weekend.
Rio Ave vs Sporting Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 68 meetings between Rio Ave and Sporting. The home side have won just nine of those games while the visitors have won 42 times. There have been 17 draws between the two clubs.
- The Lions are undefeated in their last nine games in this fixture.
- The hosts are without a clean sheet in their last 18 games in this fixture, a run stretching back to February 2016.
- Sporting are the highest-scoring side in the Primeira Liga this season with a goal tally of 48.
Rio Ave vs Sporting Prediction
Rio Ave are undefeated in their last three games and have lost just two of their last 10. They are one of just two teams in the Portuguese top flight this season yet to taste defeat on home ground and will be hopeful of a positive outcome this weekend.
Sporting's latest result ended a six-game unbeaten streak and they will be looking to bounce back here. Despite their recent away day struggles, the champions remain comfortable favorites for the weekend clash and should come out on top on Saturday.
Prediction: Rio Ave 0-2 Sporting Lisbon
Rio Ave vs Sporting Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Sporting Lisbon to win
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Five of the visitors' last six matches have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: NO (Both sides have found the back of the net in just two of their last seven matchups)
