Football Bet of the Day: Leaders have more than a Sporting chance

On a busy Sunday of football across the continent, one of the standout fixtures has to be the top-of-the-table clash in Portugal where third-placed FC Porto host leaders Sporting CP, with kick-off at 20:30 at the Estadio do Dragao.

Porto have endured an underwhelming campaign by their own high standards and find themselves 18 points adrift of Sporting with four games to go, and still with work to do to secure a Champions League play-off place as they are above Sporting Braga only on goal difference.

Sporting have been a dominant force in the Primeira Liga this term, winning 26 of their 30 games to open up a seven-point advantage at this stage, and a victory on Sunday might actually secure the title should second-placed Benfica lose to Braga on Saturday night.

Porto are obviously a force to be reckoned with, both domestically and in Europe, particularly at home, with Premier League leaders Arsenal losing at the Estadio do Dragao in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in February.

However, things have not gone according to plan for Sergio Conceicao's men this season and they are a massive 18 points behind the pacesetters, while they are 11 points adrift of Benfica in second.

They are locked on 62 points with Braga but hold the advantage on goal difference in the battle to secure that final Champions League berth, with those two sides still having to play each other before the end of the season.

Porto's home record of 10 wins, three draws and two defeats is not too shabby, while their historical record against Sporting is also impressive. Prior to this season, they had won five on the bounce in an eight-game unbeaten streak, while they have not lost at home to Sporting in the league since 2016.

However, Ruben Amorim has been impressing a number of the game's heavyweight clubs with both his results and style of play at Sporting, who are closing in on a 20th league title, having scored 19 more goals than the next highest scorers in the division.

Amorim's men have won their last eight games in the Primeira Liga and beat Porto 2-0 in the reverse fixture, and they look a fantastic price at 7/4 to chalk up another famous victory, considering their away record is better than Porto's at home.

The hosts lost at home to Vitoria Guimaraes in the league earlier this month despite beating the same opposition both home and away either side of that victory in the Taca de Portugal, while they were also held by Famalicao in their most recent league fixture at the Estadio do Dragao.

The Dragons also have a host of injury issues to contend with, with the likes of Fabio Cardoso, Zaidu Sanusi, Ivan Marcano, Diego Costa and Andre Franco among those set to miss out, so Sporting look great value to win the match and take another giant step towards the title.

Football bet of the day from Betfred Insights.