With the disappointment from Saturday's Taca da Liga final defeat still lingering in the air, Sporting Lisbon play host to Braga at the Estadio Jose Alvalade as round 18 of the Primeira Liga comes to an end on Wednesday.

Os Arcebispos, on the other hand, head into the midweek clash on a blistering run of five consecutive victories across all competitions and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling.

Match preview

Sporting Lisbon were left spitting feathers on Saturday when they fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of fierce rivals Porto in the final of the Taca da Liga at the Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa.

Having clinched the League Cup crown in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns respectively, Ruben Amorim's side went into the game seeking to be named champions for a fourth time in five years.

However, in a heated contest where Paulinho received his marching orders, Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustaquio found the target in the 10th minute to hand Porto the lead before veteran defender Ivan Marcano put the result beyond doubt with an 86th-minute strike.

Sporting Lisbon now turn their attention to the Primeira Liga, where they have struggled to get going since the turn of the year after picking up four points from their opening three outings.

The Leoes' last league action came two Fridays ago when they secured a 2-1 victory over Vizela to end their two-game winless run courtesy of second-half goals from Pedro Goncalves and Pedro Porro.

Sporting Lisbon have picked up 10 wins, two draws and lost five of their 17 league matches to collect 32 points and sit fourth in the Primeira Liga table, seven points off third-placed Porto in the Champions League playoff spot.

Elsewhere, Braga ensured that they remained within touching distance of first-placed Benfica as they picked up a hard-fought 2-1 victory over 10-man Pacos de Ferreira two Saturdays ago.

Following an uneventful first half at the Estadio Capital do Movel, Vitinha and Simon Banza found the back of the net to sink the hosts and condemned them to their 14th league defeat of the season.

Braga have now won each of their last five matches across all competitions, including a 3-2 victory over Vitoria de Guimaraes to each reach the quarter-finals of the Taca de Portugal, where they have been drawn against three-time winners Benfica on February 9.

With 40 points from 17 matches, Artur Jorge's men are currently second in the Primeira Liga standings, seven points adrift of league leaders Benfica, albeit with one game in hand.

Os Arcebispos will now set out to get one over Wednesday's hosts, having suffered a 5-0 thumping at the hands of the Lisbon outfit when the sides squared off in the quarter-finals of the Taca da Liga a little over a month ago.

Team News

Sporting Lisbon will take to the pitch without the services of 30-year-old forward Paulinho, who is suspended after picking up a red card in the Cup final defeat against Porto last time out.

Spanish full-back Porro is edging closer to a move to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and the 23-year-old will play no part in Wednesday's contest.

On the injury front, veteran defender Luis Neto has been out of action since September through a knee problem and is also out of contention for the Leoes.

Portuguese midfielder Daniel Braganca also continues his long journey to full fitness after suffering a severe cruciate ligament rupture last May.

Meanwhile, Braga will take to the pitch without French youngster Jean-Baptiste Gorby, who picked up a muscle injury in December.

Portuguese forward Ricardo Horta, who has 13 goal involvements in 16 league matches, missed the trip to Pacos de Ferreira last time out and is a doubt for the visitors.

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Inacio, Coates, Reis; Porro; Ugarte, Morita, Santos; Goncalves, Edwards, Trincao

Braga possible starting lineup:
Lima; Gomez, Tormena, Oliveira, Sequeira, Medeiros; Horta, Al-Musrati, Infande; Oliveira; Ruiz

We say: Sporting Lisbon 1-1 Braga

With both sides looking to strengthen their positions in the upper echelons of the table and their stakes for a place in the Champions League, we anticipate a thrilling contest at the Estadio Jose Alvalade. Sporting Lisbon have won each of their last six home games in the league, but we are backing Jorge's side to end this run and leave with a share of the spoils.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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