It may only be the second day of the New Year, but tomorrow's clash between Sporting and FC Porto at the Alvalade could well be one of the most significant matches of 2016 for Portuguese club football.
The Dragons travel to the capital defending a one-point lead at the top of the Liga NOS table - a lead that had belonged to Sporting for the previous two months. PortuGOAL previews the sell-out match that could have a big bearing on deciding this season's championship.
After a disappointing spell in the club's modern history, Sporting have been making steady progress since Bruno de Carvalho was elected the president in March 2013. Improved seasons under Leonardo Jardim and Marco Silva followed, but the Lions have undoubtedly taken another quality leap since Jorge Jesus was appointed head coach in the summer.
However, the Green and Whites, so impressive domestically in 2015/16, stumbled just before Christmas with two successive defeats against Braga and União da Madeira, the former ending their Portuguese Cup aspirations and the latter costing the Lisbon club top spot in the standings.
Sporting got back on track on Tuesday, convincingly beating Paços de Ferreira in the Taça da Liga thanks to excellent goals from Aquilani, Gelson Martins and Bryan Ruiz. Recent history is in Sporting's favour, with the home team unbeaten in this fixture in the last six years, winning twice with four draws.
With a settled team and a well-defined style of play, Sporting's fans will go into the game in a confident frame of mind, albeit with the pressure of knowing defeat will be a serious blow to their championship hopes. The home team are also sweating on the fitness of midfield powerhouse William Carvalho, who has barely trained this week after coming back from the Christmas break injured.
"Porto are deserved leaders," said Sporting coach Jorge Jesus. "Tomorrow we will fight to get first place back."
Probable Sporting XI:
Rui Patrício, João Pereira, Paulo Oliveira, Ewerton, Jefferson, William Carvalho (Aquilani), Adrien, João Mário, Bryan Ruiz, Montero, Slimani
Porto are looking down on the rest at the top of the Primeira Liga table, but coach Julen Lopetegui has yet to convince the majority of Porto's fans that he is the man to take the Dragons back to the top of Portuguese football.
The Spaniard kept his job despite winning nothing last season, when most analysts were in agreement that he had the strongest squad in Portugal at his disposal. That opinion is widespread again this term, so anything other than winning the Portuguese title will be considered a failure at the Estádio do Dragão.
One of the biggest criticisms of Lopetegui is his poor record in crunch matches. An early exit from the Champions League added more pressure on the Basque coach. Porto's ascension to the top of the standings muted the protests somewhat, but a surprise 3-1 loss at home to Marítimo in the Taça da Liga on Tuesday led to more anger from the Portistas, several of whom waved white handkerchiefs at the final whistle to signal their thoughts in relation to the coach.
Lopetegui himself remained calm in the aftermath of Tuesday's defeat and is aware that a win at the Alvalade will not only buy him precious breathing space, in the form of a 4-point buffer at the table summit. With Sporting to visit Porto in the third-from-last match of the season, and Benfica struggling to build momentum, it would leave the Dragons in a strong position to win their first championship since 2012/13.
"We know this game is more than the three points at stake," said Lopetegui. "To beat Sporting we have to play a great game, defend well and attack well. Sporting are a strong team but we want to take the three points back to Porto." French midfielder Imbula has been left out of the squad.
Probable Porto XI:
Casillas, Maxi Pereira, Maicon, Marcano, Layún, Danilo, Rúben Neves, André André, Brahimi, Corona, Aboubakar
PortuGOAL prediction: Sporting 1-1 FC Porto
by Tom Kundert
