Braga v Benfica and Sporting v Porto preview
From the moment the fixtures were announced in early July, week 14 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga stood out with the nation’s four best teams set to face each other. The quartet have fulfilled expectations to occupy the top four positions in the standings, and with just two points separating Sporting, Porto, Benfica and Braga, the matches take on even more significance.
The results this weekend will not decide the league. They could, however, have a huge bearing on the momentum of each of the “Big Four” and prove to be an important chapter in the story of the season when the eventual champions are crowned come May.
PortuGOAL previews what promises to be a gripping weekend of action.
Braga v Benfica
Should the Big Three now be called the Big Four? That question is being asked with increasing frequency given the continued growth of Braga. This season the Warriors are again rubbing shoulders with the three traditional powerhouses of Portuguese football, even outdoing them is some respects.
Braga are the form team in Portugal right now having won 7 and drawn one of their last 8 Liga games.
Attack, attack, attack
Moreover, Artur Jorge’s team have by far the most devastating attack in the league, scoring 36 goals in their 13 games to date, which is 8 more than Sporting, 12 more than Benfica and 15 more than Porto.
Talismanic captain Ricardo Horta – the ex-Benfica youth player who the Eagles tried and failed to by back in the summer of 2022 – is ably supported by brilliant rising star Álvaro Djaló, a rejuvenated Bruma and the free-scoring Simon Banza, not to mention the ever-improving Rodrigo Salazar pulling the creative strings in midfield. This array of forward-thinking players furnishes Braga with an array of offensive talent that is a match for any of their more storied opponents.
The problem for Braga is at the other end of the pitch. No other team in the top half of the table has conceded more goals than Braga and it will be interesting to see if Jorge compromises his ultra-attacking approach when facing the champions on Sunday evening.
Benfica’s turning point?
As for Benfica, the Lisbon giants appear to be teetering on a knife-edge as regards which direction their season will travel from here onwards.
Lose, and all the trauma of recent weeks in which coach Roger Schmidt has come under fierce criticism amid a big drop-off in performance level and results compared to last season will resurface with a vengeance. The losses of left-back Alex Grimaldo and striker Gonçalo Ramos in the summer transfer market have left two huge holes in the team that have not been adequately dealt with.
That said, despite the dropped points against Farense last weekend, Benfica looked nearer the dynamic side they have often been under Schmidt. Only poor finishing prevented a thrashing of the Algarve outfit, and the improved display was followed up by the Eagles’ most accomplished performance in the Champions League on Tuesday, with a 3-1 victory in Austria against Salzburg ensuring they stay in Europe. Once again, Benfica’s high-energy attacking play cut through the opposition with ease, and once again, with a better end product Benfica would have racked up a big win.
Major summer signing Ángel Di María was particularly lively in midweek, and should the World Cup winner maintain his form at the weekend, you fear for Braga’s porous defence.
Key players
Braga are sweating on the fitness of Álvaro Djaló. The Spaniard missed the match in Napoli on Wednesday. Given the problems Benfica have experienced in both full-back positions this season, Artur Jorge will certainly be hoping Djaló and Bruma can cause damage down the flanks and provide the bullets for the Primeira Liga’s top scorer, Simon Banza.
As alluded to above, Braga’s defence is far from secure, so the return of Al Musrati – who played the final half hour in Italy after several weeks out – could be a timely boost. The brilliant defensive midfielder provides much needed cover in front of a suspect back four.
Benfica fans will be hoping Di María can repeat his scintillating display against Salzburg, and that Rafa Silva can find his shooting boots. The Portuguese forward has scored in each of Benfica’s last two matches but has also contrived to miss, with no exaggeration, half a dozen glaring chances. Fredrik Aursnes seems to have definitively been stationed at right-back, to extremely good effect in recent matches, although adapted left-back Morato on the other flank may be targeted by Braga.
It will also be interesting to see who Schmidt plumps for at centre-forward, with Artur Cabral (fresh from his heroics in Austria), Casper Tengstedt and Petar Musa all having chances this season and none fully convincing.
Listen to the special Long Ball Futebol/PortuGOAL podcast previewing the two matches
Sporting v Porto
If before the season began you told Sporting fans they would be top of the league after 13 matches they would have taken that scenario gladly. However, with the Lions snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the recent Lisbon derby and then losing 3-2 to Vitória in a seesaw match last weekend, there is a feeling that it could have been so much better.
Rúben Amorim’s men have had particular difficulty in winning matches against their arch rivals. It is now ten consecutive matches against Benfica and Porto where Sporting have failed to taste victory, and against Monday’s opponents the record is an alarming six straight defeats. A victory for the hosts is badly needed to prevent it from becoming a psychological block
Gyökeres in beast mode
Sporting splashed out a record €24 million transfer fee in the summer to buy Swedish striker Viktor Gyökeres, but any doubts about whether it was money well spent have been categorically dispelled in the opening months of 2023/24. The “force of nature” has been the best player in Portugal this season, and the number one reason for Sporting’s strong start.
The home fans will be looking to their new cult hero to deliver again (17 goals in 21 matches in all competitions so far), and with Porto’s Pepe seemingly picking up a knock at the end of their Champions League win over Shakhtar, Gyökeres will surely relish his chances of inflicting damage against an unconvincing defence at the best of times without their best defender.
Porto on the up
Should the Dragons continue their recent ascendency over Sporting, then on Monday night Porto will be top of the league, in addition to being the only Portuguese team to make it to the knockouts of the Champions League. After a poor start to their campaign, with a series of dour performances, it is testament to Porto’s ability to “get the job done” even when not playing to the best of their ability.
What’s more, Porto fans will be excited that Sérgio Conceição’s team has shown signs of starting to click in recent weeks. Alan Varela and Stephen Eustáquio especially have the makings of a formidable midfield engine room, while the well-drilled strike partnership of Mehdi Taremi and Evanilson look to be back to their best.
Sérgio Conceição wins few friends with his ultra-competitive demeanour on the sidelines, often letting his emotions get the better of him in and around the dugout. The many ensuing controversies, however, do not detract from the fact that he is an extremely competent coach, both in motivational terms and also as regards his tactical intelligence. He will relish the opportunity to get one over Amorim again.
Key players
For Sporting one cannot look beyond Viktor Gyökeres and Marcus Edwards as the Lions’ chief weapons. The Swede and the Englishman have been superb individually this season and are increasingly building an extremely fruitful partnership. They have overshadowed Sporting’s most potent attacking weapon of previous seasons, Pedro Gonçalves, but Pote seemed have recovered his spark last week with a fiery display against Vitória.
At the back, veteran captain Sebastián Coates, and young gems Ousmane Diomande and Gonçalo Inácio will have to be on top of their game, especially as wing-backs Ricardo Esgaio and Nuno Santos have not offered much from a defensive point of view.
Indeed, Esgaio is often singled out as a weak point of this Sporting team, and Porto’s Wenderson Galeno – fresh from two goals and two assists in the 5-3 Champions League victory over Shakhtar Donetsk – will be rubbing his hands at the chance to expose the right-back. And given Sporting’s propensity to concede late goals, the coach’s son Francisco Conceição is likely to be a dangerous weapon off the bench.
Whoever wins the battle of the midfield duos – Porto’s Varela and Estáquio or Sporting’s Hjulmand and Morita – could end up winning the game for their side. The weakest sector of the visitors is certainly their back line, and the brilliant Diogo Costa may have to be at his best to keep Sporting out.
Bring it on!
Sunday, 17 December 2023, 8.30pm – Braga v Benfica
Monday, 18 December 2023, 8.15pm – Sporting v Porto
by Tom Kundert
