Sporting and Benfica will play their second derby in four days and the title is just around the corner

Football League I leaders Sporting CP and chasing Benfica will play a decisive card in the Portuguese title race on Saturday when they face each other at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in a Lisbon derby that monopolizes the 28th round.

In addition to playing at home, the green-white team is in a more privileged position, as it has a one-point advantage over the national champion and has played one less game against Famalican, which was postponed for security reasons.

The Lions’ confidence has been boosted by their recent qualification for the Portuguese Cup final, achieved on Tuesday with a 2-2 draw at Benfica Stadium in the second leg of the semi-final, following a 2-1 home win in the first leg played more than a month ago.

Sporting are also the only team to have a 100% winning record in front of their fans, while the Reds have exposed some weaknesses away from home, where they have already dropped 10 points, the latest after a heavy defeat to Porto. 5-0.

Faced with so many setbacks, the team coached by Germany’s Roger Schmidt will be able to maintain the good performance they showed four days ago (despite being twice disadvantaged and failing to reach the Portuguese Cup final). especially the match in the first round of the championship.

On November 12, 2023, Sporting reached the 90th minute, leading 1:0, but the persistence of the national champion allowed him to reverse the result and win with a score of 2:1, with two goals scored “out of time” by João Neves. at 90+4 and the Dane Kasper Tengstedt at 90+8.

Swede Victor Gyökeres opened the scoring in the 45th minute and, almost five months later, is once again the most formidable weapon in the team coached by Ruben Amorim, as evidenced by his leading the tournament’s top scorers with 22 goals.

The second clash between the rivals from Lisbon in the same week, against the backdrop of the title and in the period of the 2023/24 season, which no longer allows for misses, with seven rounds left before the end of the I League. pushes the remaining matches to a secondary level of travel.

Nine points behind Benfica and 10 behind Sporting, Porto are beginning to concentrate on defending third place as fourth-placed Sporting de Braga were just two points behind in the previous round, leaving second place The place was lost to Estoril Praia with a score of 1:0.

Braga’s team, under caretaker Ruy Duarte following the departure of Arthur Jorge, will always benefit from a win at home on Saturday against Arouca, who remain in a comfortable seventh place, under Daniel Sousa – the future coach of Minho – as hosts of the Vitoria de Dragons Guimaraes finished fifth, three points behind Arsenal the next day.

In the “tail” of the table, there is also a decisive game ahead, but in the struggle to remain in the main tier between Desportivo de Chaves, in 18th and last place, and Portimonense, 16th, both in the “red zone”. , who meet each other at the Tras-os-Montes stadium.

The 28th round of the First League begins on Friday with Farense (13th place) against Boavista (10th place) and ends on Monday with the match between Casa Pia (ninth place) and Estoril Praia ( 12th place).