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NederlandSporting Lisbon will look to further cement themselves at the top of the Primeira Liga table on Monday, when they travel to Parque Joaquim de Almeida Freitas to take on Moreirense.
The side from the capital currently sit seven points clear of second-placed Porto, with a game in hand on Os Dragoes and 10 games left to play, while a poor run of form has seen the hosts drop to eighth spot after a promising first half of the season.
Match preview
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Moreirense suffered a disappointing defeat before the international break, as they fell to a 3-0 loss away at fifth-placed Pacos de Ferreira.
Goals from Douglas Tanque, Luther Singh and Helder Ferreira wrapped the game up before half time, and condemned Vasco Seabra's side to an eighth league defeat of the season.
Before that, Moreirense were somewhat lucky to draw 1-1 with Rio Ave, as Felipe Pires equalised late to salvage a point after Os Rioavistas led through an early Filipe Soares own goal.
After winning just one of their last six league outings, Os Verdes e Brancos have dropped to eighth spot in the top flight, 14 points behind fifth-placed Pacos de Ferreira after they were previously battling for a spot in the top five.
Seabra will be desperate to stop the rot at Moreirense sooner rather than later, but Monday's game presents one of the toughest obstacles of the season, as they take on a Sporting Lisbon side who appear to be running away with the league title.
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In his second full season managing in the top flight, Ruben Amorim has Sporting Lisbon well on track for their first Primeira Liga title since 2002, and the 19th in the club's history.
After 24 games of the league campaign, Os Verde e Brancos remain unbeaten, having picked up a tally of 64 points from a possible 72 at this stage of the season.
That is largely down to their solid defensive record, with no side getting close to shipping as few as the 11 that Amorim's men have conceded in 24 league matches.
Their attack has more than pulled its weight too, with only second-placed Porto netting more than their 46 goals.
Last time out, the capital side showed their resilience to come away from a tough encounter against sixth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes with a 1-0 win thanks to Goncalo Inacio's first goal for the club.
Before that, they played out another close game, as Tiago Tomas netted in the 81st minute to seal a 1-0 win over Tondela.
After an important 0-0 draw with Porto to hold Os Dragoes off, Amorim's side have put together a three-game league winning run, and he will be looking to stretch that to four matches with another victory on Monday.
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Team News
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Moreirense remain without several players through injury, as midfielder Pedro Nuno and defender Pedro Amador both remain out of contention.
Meanwhile, centre-midfielder Sori Mane will also remain out, having missed the entirety of the season through injury.
However, they will welcome young forward Filipe Soares back to action, after he served a suspension last time out for accumulating five league yellow cards.
Since breaking into the side, Manchester City loanee Nahuel Ferraresi has impressed at centre-back alongside Lazar Rosic.
Sporting will have the major boost of the return of their captain Sebastian Coates, who served a suspension in the last game for accumulating five league yellow cards.
They will also welcome experienced defender Joao Pereira back to action, after he served a suspension last time out for a red card shown against Tondela, when he was dismissed despite not making it onto the pitch.
Despite a relative dip in his form in front of goal recently, Pedro Goncalves remains at the top of the Primeira Liga scoring charts with 15 goals from 22 games, while also registering four assists.
He could be joined by Paulinho, who recently returned from injury after his January deadline day move from Braga, while Tiago Tomas could complete the three-man front line, having excelled in his first season in the senior team.
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Pasinato; Silva, Rosic, Ferraresi, Conte; Yan, A. Soares, Pacheco, Walterson; F. Soares, Martins
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Inacio, Coates, Feddal; Porro, Mario, Palhinha, Mendes; Goncalves, Paulinho, Tomas
We say: Moreirense 0-2 Sporting Lisbon
The visitors do not look like slipping up on their way to the title, and we see them simply being too strong for Moreirense on Monday.
Their strong mix of attacking and defensive quality should see them cruise past a Moreirense side in poor form, as they take one step closer to lifting the trophy.
