Sporting host Nottingham Forest in their final pre-season match ahead of the season start next week, which sets the stage for a serious performance and fewer experiments.
Sporting are certainly among the teams that have impressed the most in this summer’s friendly matches. The Lions didn’t waste their time on weak opposition, instead arranging four matches against clubs from the major leagues, winning all three so far.
To start with, they thrashed Celtic 4–1, before putting in an even stronger performance in their 7–0 victory over Strasbourg. At the weekend, they dominated Monaco to secure their third consecutive victory.
Rui Borges has had the difficult task of navigating the many incoming and outgoing transfers, but so far it seems as though Sporting are making nothing but the right decisions, and the team looks extremely dangerous ahead of the start of the season.
Nottingham Forest are also undergoing significant changes, though not so much in terms of transfers as in yet another managerial change and the appointment of Oliver Glasner.
So far, they can hardly have any cause for complaint, having recorded two wins and a draw in their three friendly matches, but there is no doubt that the standard of their opponents was far lower than that of Sporting’s.
Nottingham have much more time left before the end of their pre-season preparations, with a full six friendly matches still to come. Sporting will be their first serious test ahead of the matches against Barcelona and Bayer Leverkusen in about ten days.
How the bookies view it: The Lions have the edge
Bookmakers are expecting a relatively evenly matched contest, but are still giving Sporting a slight edge ahead of the match.
At the moment, you can back the Lions at 21/20, whilst Nottingham Forest are priced at 17/10. A draw is available at around 29/10.
Recent head-to-head: The Reds won the only H2H back in 2009
As Nottingham Forest had not qualified for any UEFA competitions for 30 long years, they have never had the chance to face Sporting in a competitive match. The two sides have played one friendly match, back in 2009, when the Reds won 1–0 away from home.
Players to watch: Watch out for Suarez’s return
With this being Sporting’s last pre-season match, we should see a more traditional line-up, and more of the usual and expected starters. Most notably, Luis Suarez should be back from his post-World Cup rest and make an appearance.
After 38 goals in his debut season with Sporting, he is definitely the man to back during the upcoming campaign.
Backed a player to find the net? Check our Goalscorer Betting guide to see how the markets work and where to find value.
Probable line-ups
Sporting: Silva, Quaresma, Diomande, Inacio, Araujo, Hjulmand, Morita, Catamo, Trincao, Goncalves, Suarez
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Aina, Anderson, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Wood
Anything else catch the eye?
Rui Borges may surprise us with his line-up or general plans, but to me, it makes more sense that we will see an optimal Sporting squad. There is no time left for them to experiment too much, as the new season starts next week.
Nottingham Forest should also field a stronger squad than in the previous matches, and I believe this will all lead to an attractive clash with goals on both ends. But I also believe that Sporting have been one of the top performers in the top five leagues this summer, and they can win this match 2-1.
Sporting vs Nottingham Forest Betting Tips & Predictions
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