Sporting Lisbon will begin their search for a 20th top-flight title when they entertain Vizela at Estadio Jose Alvalade on Saturday.
The 2020-21 Primeira Liga champions finished fourth last season – 13 points behind table-topping Benfica – while Vizela finished 34 points shy of Sporting in 11th place.
Match preview
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After winning the Primeira Liga title in 2020-21, Sporting Lisbon finished as runners-up in 2021-22 after losing just three of their 34 league matches that season, but the Lions experienced a notable drop-off last term.
Despite chalking up a 14-game unbeaten streak at the end of the previous campaign – notching 11 victories in the process – Sporting were unable to leapfrog third-placed Braga, while Benfica and Porto battled it out for the title.
Ruben Amorim's men also kicked off their pre-season preparations with an impressive unbeaten run, defeating Estrela and Maritimo before dispatching Spanish sides Real Sociedad and Villarreal, with draws coming against Portimonense and Genk.
Although Sporting suffered a 1-0 defeat to Everton in their seventh and final warm-up match last time out, the Lions will be confident of kick-starting their Primeira Liga campaign with a positive result this weekend.
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On the flip side, Vizela played just one pre-season friendly before beginning their 2023-24 campaign with a couple of Taca da Liga games last month, recording one win, one draw and one loss.
Following a 2-2 draw in a friendly with Caldes, the Vizelenses claimed a 2-1 victory over Maritimo to book their place in the second round of the Taca da Liga, only to suffer a 1-0 defeat to second-tier side AVS.
It would not be unfair to say that Vizela experienced an inconsistent 2022-23 campaign, as they recorded 11 wins, seven draws and 15 losses in the league, finishing 14 points clear of the bottom three and 13 points shy of the top six.
That said, the Braga outfit gained Primeira Liga promotion for only the second time in their history in 2020-21, ending a 36-year absence from the top flight, so manager Pablo Villar will be pleased with his team's progress.
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Team News
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Sporting received more than €100m from the recent sales of Manuel Ugarte, Pedro Porro, Tiago Tomas and Arthur Gomes, although the Lions have only spent a fraction of that figure this summer.
After scoring 21 Championship goals for Coventry City last season, Viktor Gyokeres has arrived in Lisbon, while Francisco Trincao is back on a permanent basis following a successful loan spell last term.
However, Sporting will start the season without Jeremiah St Juste as the Dutch defender continues to recover from a muscle injury.
Vizela, on the other hand, have reported no injury problems ahead of the new campaign, meaning that Pablo Villar has a full-strength squad at his disposal as he aims to inspire an upset in the capital.
Thankfully for the Vizelenses, they have managed to keep hold of several key players, including Kiko Bondoso and Samu, who racked up six goals and nine assists between them last term.
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan; Quaresma, Diomande, Inacio; Catamo, Morita, Braganca, Reis; Trincao, Gyokeres, Goncalves
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Buntic; Silva, Escoval, Fernandes, Pereira; Samu, Mendez; Lacava, Rashid, Bondoso; Unzueta
We say: Sporting Lisbon 3-0 Vizela
With a successful pre-season in the bank, Sporting look set to begin their 2023-24 Primeira Liga campaign with a comfortable victory over Vizela, who failed to taste victory in 11 of their 17 away league games last term.
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