Sporting 4 - 0 Vitória Setúbal

The number of clean sheets, or matches a team has without conceding a single goal, in a competition is a strong indicator of how well their defence is playing. The more times a team can completely keep their opponents from scoring, the more likely it is the team’s actual ability rather than just random chance.

We keep track of all the clean sheet information here, and these are the stats for Sporting vs Vitória Setúbal:

• Sporting has played 30 matches and kept opponents from scoring a single goal in 15 of them. In other words, they have kept a clean sheet in 50% of their matches.
• In 15 home matches in the Primeira Liga, Sporting has had 9 matches without conceding a goal. Vitória Setúbal has played 30 matches and has shut out opponents on 7 occasions. That means they have held clean sheets in 23% of their matches.
• In 15 home matches played in the Liga Portugal, Vitória Setúbal has had 1 matches without conceding a single goal. And away from home, they have a 7% clean sheet rate as the visiting side.

If both clubs have a high rate of keeping clean sheets, then there’s a decent chance of seeing a low-scoring battle between two strong defensive clubs. But for matches between clubs with low rates of clean sheets, then it’s fair to expect a goal or two.