No doubt about the match of the weekend in Portugal. A rampant FC Porto host Lisbon rivals Sporting with their eyes firmly fixed on clocking up yet another win.
Should they do so, Porto will equal a club record of 15 consecutive wins in the league. But the last team to prevent them from earning three points in the Liga ZON Sagres were precisely… Sporting.
As the race to qualify for the Europa League enters the home straight, both Madeira teams, Maritimo and Nacional, as well as Rio Ave and Pacos de Ferreira are all in with a shout.
Elsewhere much of the focus will be on the other end of the table. Upon completion of the matches between Rio Ave and Naval, Leiria and Portimonense and Academica and Setubal, we could well have a clearer picture of who will be dropping out of the league at season’s end.
The weekend schedule kicks off with an encounter between two teams desperate to scratch together enough points from their last four matches to stay out of the relegation places.
Vitoria Setubal gave their survival hopes a huge boost last week with a home win over Leiria, but Naval’s victory on the same day means the Sadinos are far from home and dry yet. Academica are also perilously close to the drop zone, and a return of just one win and three goals from their last six games does not bode well for the Coimbra-based club.
A disastrous run of form has plunged Olhanense into the midst of a relegation dogfight. One draw and five defeats in their last six matches, during which time they have only scored one goal, has seen the Algarve club plummet towards the bottom end of the table. Dauto Faquira may feel his team can reverse the slide against a Pacos side who have also disappointed of late and who are still licking their wounds after an embarrassing 6-1 home defeat last weekend.
Vitoria Guimaraes have already guaranteed a place in next season’s Europa League via the Portuguese Cup, and Maritimo have not given up hope of joining them. The Madeira team are finishing the season strongly and were unlucky not to chalk up a fourth straight victory last weekend. The islanders will hope to take advantage of Vitoria’s indifferent recent form to edge nearer towards realizing their European ambitions.
Both sides go into the match on the back of tremendous results last weekend. Rio Ave thumped Pacos de Ferreira 6-1 away, scoring all six goals in the second half, including a brace from evergreen Portuguese striker Joao Tomas.
Naval continued their brave battle to pull off a miraculous escape from relegation with a 2-1 win over Benfica – the first time the modest Figueira da Foz team had ever beaten the Lisbon giants. Naval coach Carlos Mozer knows the win against his former team will mean little if they do not follow it up with more points on Sunday.
Although still very much in the hunt for trophies in the cup competitions, both at home and abroad, Benfica have been limping over the line when it comes to the Liga ZON Sagres. With first place long out of reach and second place guaranteed, coach Jorge Jesus has understandably used the league matches to give lesser used players a run-out and simultaneously rest his regulars.
Beira-Mar have been steady all season, and coach Rui Bento will be reasonably confident about coming away from the Estadio da Luz on Sunday with something to show for their efforts.
The match of the weekend sees the all-conquering FC Porto face arguably their last serious obstacle to completing the notable achievement of finishing the season unbeaten in the league.
Andre Villas-Boas’ team have been in awesome form all season, winning 24 and drawing 2 of their 26 matches in the championship so far. The Dragons have hit new heights lately, scoring 13 goals in their last 3 matches, with the fearsome strike duo of Hulk and Falcao looking unstoppable.
Sporting achieved a creditable 1-1 draw in the fixture between the two giants of Portuguese football at the Alvalade earlier this season, and centre-back Polga admits becoming the first team to defeat Porto in 2010/11 provides extra motivation for the squad.
Braga continue to astonish all and sundry with their incredible feats in Europe. The draw at home to Dynamo Kiev which gave Domingos Paciencia’s side passage into the semi-finals of the Europa League was achieved despite a long injury list. But such is their momentum (11 games unbeaten in all competitions, 5 straight wins in the league), that Braga will be confident of maintaining the sequence in their trip to Madeira.
Nacional have been plagued by inconsistency all season, but remain in the mix for a European berth. A win on Monday will see the islanders well placed to achieve that objective.
As the race to qualify for the Europa League enters the home straight, both Madeira teams, Maritimo and Nacional, as well as Rio Ave and Pacos de Ferreira are all in with a shout.
Elsewhere much of the focus will be on the other end of the table. Upon completion of the matches between Rio Ave and Naval, Leiria and Portimonense and Academica and Setubal, we could well have a clearer picture of who will be dropping out of the league at season’s end.
The weekend schedule kicks off with an encounter between two teams desperate to scratch together enough points from their last four matches to stay out of the relegation places.
Vitoria Setubal gave their survival hopes a huge boost last week with a home win over Leiria, but Naval’s victory on the same day means the Sadinos are far from home and dry yet. Academica are also perilously close to the drop zone, and a return of just one win and three goals from their last six games does not bode well for the Coimbra-based club.
A disastrous run of form has plunged Olhanense into the midst of a relegation dogfight. One draw and five defeats in their last six matches, during which time they have only scored one goal, has seen the Algarve club plummet towards the bottom end of the table. Dauto Faquira may feel his team can reverse the slide against a Pacos side who have also disappointed of late and who are still licking their wounds after an embarrassing 6-1 home defeat last weekend.
Vitoria Guimaraes have already guaranteed a place in next season’s Europa League via the Portuguese Cup, and Maritimo have not given up hope of joining them. The Madeira team are finishing the season strongly and were unlucky not to chalk up a fourth straight victory last weekend. The islanders will hope to take advantage of Vitoria’s indifferent recent form to edge nearer towards realizing their European ambitions.
Both sides go into the match on the back of tremendous results last weekend. Rio Ave thumped Pacos de Ferreira 6-1 away, scoring all six goals in the second half, including a brace from evergreen Portuguese striker Joao Tomas.
Naval continued their brave battle to pull off a miraculous escape from relegation with a 2-1 win over Benfica – the first time the modest Figueira da Foz team had ever beaten the Lisbon giants. Naval coach Carlos Mozer knows the win against his former team will mean little if they do not follow it up with more points on Sunday.
Although still very much in the hunt for trophies in the cup competitions, both at home and abroad, Benfica have been limping over the line when it comes to the Liga ZON Sagres. With first place long out of reach and second place guaranteed, coach Jorge Jesus has understandably used the league matches to give lesser used players a run-out and simultaneously rest his regulars.
Beira-Mar have been steady all season, and coach Rui Bento will be reasonably confident about coming away from the Estadio da Luz on Sunday with something to show for their efforts.
The match of the weekend sees the all-conquering FC Porto face arguably their last serious obstacle to completing the notable achievement of finishing the season unbeaten in the league.
Andre Villas-Boas’ team have been in awesome form all season, winning 24 and drawing 2 of their 26 matches in the championship so far. The Dragons have hit new heights lately, scoring 13 goals in their last 3 matches, with the fearsome strike duo of Hulk and Falcao looking unstoppable.
Sporting achieved a creditable 1-1 draw in the fixture between the two giants of Portuguese football at the Alvalade earlier this season, and centre-back Polga admits becoming the first team to defeat Porto in 2010/11 provides extra motivation for the squad.
Braga continue to astonish all and sundry with their incredible feats in Europe. The draw at home to Dynamo Kiev which gave Domingos Paciencia’s side passage into the semi-finals of the Europa League was achieved despite a long injury list. But such is their momentum (11 games unbeaten in all competitions, 5 straight wins in the league), that Braga will be confident of maintaining the sequence in their trip to Madeira.
Nacional have been plagued by inconsistency all season, but remain in the mix for a European berth. A win on Monday will see the islanders well placed to achieve that objective.
