Sporting has an appointment with Braga, after the inglorious clash of the final four of the League Cup, in which the lions were defeated, despite dominating the entire match. O championship game kick-off scheduled for 6pm on Sunday, February 11th, at Estádio José Alvalade.
With one game less, the green and whites are in second place in the standings, with 49 points, two less than Benfica (51), who have one game more. Porto occupies second place in the national championship table, with 45 points. The Minho team remain in fourth place, with 40 points.
Sporting’s likely eleven to host Braga:Antonio Adán; Eduardo Quaresma, Sebastián Coates and Gonçalo Inácio; Geny Catamo, Morten Hjulmand, Hidemasa Morita and Nuno Santos; Francisco Trincão, Pedro Gonçalves and Viktor Gyokeres.
In goal, Antonio Adán, the usual starter, should take the place of Franco Israel, who once again played minutes in the Portuguese Cup, against União de Leiria. The trio of central defenders will also see changes, with Gonçalo Inácio jumping to Matheus Reis’s place. Eduardo Quaresma and Sebastián Coates make up the wall that blocks the Spaniard’s goal.
Geny Catamo takes the right wing, as in the match of the premier competition, with Nuno Santos on the left. At core, Morten Hjulmand is ‘6’, with Hidemasa Morita to return to the starting lineup, pushing Pedro Gonçalves back into more offensive positions.
The attacking trio should have Francisco Trincão, who is going through one of his best moments since arriving in Alvalade, and Pote – with Marcus Edwards to be the ‘sacrificed’ for the promotion of the ‘8 shirt’ -, in support of Viktor Gyokeres, the Lions’ top scorer and sensational player of the season. Paulinho returned from injurybut must start the game on the bench.
Information: Sunday – February 11 – 6:00 pm – José Alvalade Stadium (Lisbon) – SportTV 1
Who’s out: Iván Fresneda (Fracture); Jeremiah St. Juste (foot discomfort); Ousmane Diomande (Selection).
Doubts: Nobody.
Arbitration Team: Referee: António Nobre; Assistants: Paulo Brás and Nélson Pereira; 4th referee: André Narciso; VAR: Artur Soares Dias; AVAR: João Bessa Silva.