The first piece of silverware in Portugal's domestic scene is up for grabs on Saturday night, when Sporting Lisbon and Porto will lock horns at Estadio Municipal de Aveiro in the Portuguese Super Cup.
Leoes claimed a spot in this fixture courtesy of their title-winning 2023-24 campaign, whilst the Dragoes earned their place thanks to a Taca de Portugal success at the end of May.
Match preview
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Following a fourth-placed finish in the Primeira Liga at the conclusion of the 2022-23 term, resulting in them missing out on Champions League qualification all together, Sporting Lisbon produced a simply-historic 2023-24 season to lift the Portuguese title for the first time since 2021.
From start to finish the Leoes looked like worthy champions, and the collection of a sensational 90 points from 34 top-tier matches allowed Sporting to claim the top prize at a relative canter, sitting 10 points ahead of second-placed Benfica at the conclusion of the league term.
Joining from Championship outfit Coventry City last summer, Viktor Gyokeres was the jewel in the title-winning crown for Sporting last term, with the Swedish marksman netting 43 goals in just 50 games across all competitions, whilst also providing 14 assists for teammates.
Saturday's final would arguably be a foregone conclusion if it was played at Leoes' Estadio Jose Alvalade, where Ruben Amorim's troops won all 17 of their Primeira Liga fixtures last campaign, scoring 57 goals and conceding on only 11 occasions in the process.
Sporting commenced their pre-season action during the middle of July and have navigated three tricky matches unbeaten, sharing the honours with Belgian side Union SG on July 17 before getting the better of Spanish duo Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao to round off the month.
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After a trophy-laden seven-year spell in charge of Porto, Sergio Conceicao departed the Portuguese giants at the end of the 2023-24 term, one which was extremely mixed for a side who expect to be at the very summit of the Primeira Liga and competing for European honours.
For the first time since 2016, the Dragoes finished outside of the division's top two, falling 18 points behind runaway leaders Sporting and eight points back from second-placed Benfica, meaning that Sunday's underdogs failed to qualify for the revamped Champions League.
Conceicao's final bit of management for Porto booked them a place in this weekend's Super Cup final at the end of May, when the Dragoes clinched their 24th Taca de Portugal trophy against league winners Sporting thanks to goals from Evanilson and Mehdi Taremi, who has since moved to Inter Milan.
Vitor Bruno is the man tasked with taking Porto back to the upper echelons of the Portuguese game this season, and the 41-year-old has enjoyed a productive pre-season campaign to date, with the Dragoes winning all five of their warm-up matches whilst conceding just a single goal.
Porto are the most successful club in the history of the Portuguese Super Cup - lifting the trophy on 23 previous occasions - although a large chunk of the current squad have bad memories of the competition, as the Dragoes lost 2-0 against Benfica in the 2023 edition.
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Team News
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Sporting have lost one of their experienced heads prior to the start of the new season, with centre-back Sebastian Coates moving to back to his homeland of Uruguay to sign for Nacional.
The 33-year-old has been replaced in the Leoes squad by youngster Zeno Debast, who is linking up with his new employers following a summer of international football at Euro 2024 with Belgium.
Both scoring two goals each during three pre-season matches, Pedro Goncalves and Trincao are in good shape heading into this weekend and should start on the flanks for Sporting.
Porto remain without the services of left-back Zaidu Sanusi, with the 27-year-old suffering a serious cruciate ligament injury back in February.
As a result, Martim Fernandes could be given the nod on the left of the Dragoes' backline on Saturday, with the 18-year-old impressing during the 4-0 thrashing of Al-Nassr last time out.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Kovacevic; Geny, Quaresma, Inacio, Debast; Quenda, Hjulmand, Morita; Goncalves, Trincao; Gyokeres
Porto possible starting lineup:
Ramos; Mario, Pedro, Otavio, Fernandes; Varela, Grujic, Borges, Gonzalez, Galeno; Loader
We say: Sporting Lisbon 2-1 Porto
With both sides unbeaten in pre-season, Sporting Lisbon and Porto should be full of confidence heading into Saturday's Super Cup final in Aveiro.
That being said, the Leoes have to be the favourites against opposition who are still getting accustomed to the management style and tactics of Bruno.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Carter White
