Sporting vs Real Madrid: Preview and Prediction

Sporting CP vs Real Madrid
UEFA Champions League – Group F
Date: Tuesday, 22nd November 2016,
Kick-Off at 19:45 UK,
Venue: Estadio Jose Alvalade, Lisbon.

Sporting Club de Portugal are in desperate search for a win when they host Real Madrid for the matchday 5 clash on Tuesday, 22nd November 2016.

Sporting are third in Group F by virtue of a lone win against Legia Warsaw on matchday 2, while they lost in all their remaining three matches so far. There is a 5 point gap between them and Real on second place, which means anything less than a win here will eliminate them from the group stage. At the same time, a win here can only give them the slightest hopes as Real Madrid must not get a point from their final group game against Borussia Dortmund.

Real Madrid were given a big scare when they met Sporting on matchday 1 at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Portuguese side took a shock lead in the second half and look set for all three points until Ronaldo came to haunt his childhood club. An 89th minute free-kick goal from the Real Madrid ace levelled the scores before Alvaro Morata scored the winner with seconds left on the clock to complete a 2-1 win for the Los Blancos.

Sporting went on to defeat Legia Warsaw 2-0 at home before losing both home and away leg to Borussia Dortmund. While Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw by Dortmund, which was backed up by a brilliant 5-1 win at home against Legia. However their matchday 4 trip to Warsaw end in tatters as Legia came back from 2 goals down to earn a 3-3 draw.

Real Madrid are second in the group with 8 points from their 2 wins and 2 draws. A draw here will confirm their entry into the round of 16. Borussia Dortmund on the tip of the table have 10 points, they do will qualify with a draw or a Sporting defeat. Legia at the bottom of the table with 1 point are already eliminated.

Sporting vs Real Madrid: Head-to-head stats

Real Madrid and Sporting have locked horns in UEFA competitions on five occasions and the Spanish giants lead the head-to-head with 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss. However, Madrid haven’t won in their previous two away games against Sporting, they lost 1 and drew 1.

Sporting’s overall record against Spanish sides is 6W, 5D, 10L. At home they picked 6 wins along with 2 draws from 10 matches, while lost twice.

Madrid have a solid record against Portuguese sides as their overall record read 13 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses from 21 matches. Their away record is even with 4W, 1D, 4L from 9 visits.

Sporting vs Real Madrid: Prediction

Real Madrid are coming on the back of an excellent 3-0 win against their city rivals Atletico Madrid. This was a classy performance and result to go with despite missing some key players like Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Toni Kroos. While Sporting’s form is not that bad, it is unlikely that they can raise any kind of threat to the free-scoring Madrid side. A surprise can only happen if Real go to sleep like they did in their previous Champions League fixture against Legia Warsaw.