Although they have been solid in the Primeria Liga, Sporting have not had the best run so far in European competition. Despite winning their first play-off Champions League match, Jorge Jesus's side were defeated 3-1 by Russian powerhouse CSKA Moskva in the second leg and had to settle for a spot in the Europa League. And so far, their bad luck versus Russian sides continues as they were defeated by fellow capital club Lokomotiv Moskva, leaving them bottom of their group.
As such, they will be hoping to get back to winning ways as they welcome Nacional later today. Prior to this match, the two sides have met a total of 31 times across all competitions dating back to 2002, since Nacional's return to the Portuguese top flight. Out of those meetings, it's the hosts who have enjoyed the lion's share of victories, with 16 wins. Nacional, meanwhile, have only tasted victory on four occasions and the remaining 11 games have finished as stalemates.
Interestingly, in recent times, clashes between Sporting and Nacional have also been ill-tempered affairs. Out of their past thirteen competitive fixtures dating back to the visitors' last win in February 2011, eight have finished with one team seeing a man sent off, with Nacional being guilty of this in five of those matches. Hence, Manuel Machado, who is back for his third spell at the Estádio da Madeira, will hope his men keep cool heads as they hope to pull off what would be an impressive upset later this evening.
With perpetual title rivals Porto and Benfica already having duked it out in the first "Classico" of the season, Sporting will be hoping to capitalize on that result as they seek to keep pace with the other two members of the "Big Three" at at the table's summit.
If Portuguese football is your thing, you won't want to miss out on this Monday clash as Sporting hope to rebound from their Europa League opening loss last week. Make sure you check out our special page for Sporting vs. Nacional to find viewing times and options for wherever you call home.
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