Football Bet of the Day: Portuguese champs to slip up again | OneFootball

Bet of the Day

Sporting have fallen apart since Ruben Amorim left

After a near-miss in Italy, we're off to Portugal, because Kevin Hatchard is taking on a favourite in the cup.

Gil Vicente v SportingThursday 27 February, 20:45

We were too greedy last night in Italy. Our BTTS bet landed in Juventus' 1-1 Coppa Italia draw with Empoli (the visitors won on penalties), but we'd combined it with a Randal Kolo Muani goal, and he drew a blank.

We'll skip across to Portugal now, because ailing Sporting are looking to rescue their season, and they visit Gil Vicente in the Taca de Portugal.

Gil Vicente are in relegation danger after a five-match losing run, but I'm willing to look past that to examine their strong home record. The Roosters have lost just three of their 12 competitive games this season at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, they have held Sporting and Braga to draws there, and last month they won 3-1 against Porto.

Sporting have suffered a huge drop in performance levels and confidence since Ruben Amorim defected to Manchester United. Amorim's replacement Joao Pereira lasted just a few weeks before he was dismissed, and now former Guimaraes boss Rui Borges is struggling too.

At the weekend, Sporting gave up a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at relegation-threatened AVS, and the week before they were held to a 2-2 draw by Arouca. They have won just two of their last nine games in all competitions, they have crashed out of the Champions League and they have blown a big lead over Benfica in the race for the Primeira Liga title.

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