Primeira Liga Jornada 16 preview: In-form teams go head-to-head and derby fireworks

After a short Christmas break we enter a new year, and with things still as tight as they are at both ends of the table it will be another important weekend of football. 

With Sporting, Benfica and Braga facing in-form teams and Porto having to negotiate a local derby, it promises to be another fascinating round of Primeira Liga matches.

PortuGOAL previews all the action. 

Sporting v Estoril – a cracker to kick off the action

We kick off on Friday night with two great games. Firstly, League leaders Sporting host an Estoril team completely rejuvenated under Vasco Seabra and who are looking to climb up the table. Sporting have been the most consistent team this season, their convincing performances coupled with the impact of summer signings Morten Hjulmand and Viktor Gyökeres have certainly given them the psychological edge over their title rivals this season. History has shown Sporting are better leading the pack rather than chasing down the leaders so a win against Estoril is vitally important for them to maintain a positive atmosphere around the club. 

Estoril have really turned things around since the arrival of Vasco Seabra and their attacking football has seen them score 12 goals in their last 4 games. This will be an interesting test against Sporting with both teams playing with wing-backs and 3 attackers. Key duels will be on the flanks, Estoril’s right-hand side of Rafik Guitane and Rodrigo Gomes against Matheus Reis and Gonçalo Inácio will be a fascinating battle.

City of Porto derby

Secondly on Saturday night, Porto make the short trip across town to face Boavista in the Porto derby. Boavista are the ideal team to play at the moment if you’re looking for an easy win having lost 7 of their last 10 league games, and are without a win since September. Former manager of their U-19 squad Ricardo Paiva has been confirmed as Petit’s replacement and during his unveiling club president Vitor Murta was at least able to confirm that the players have had their salaries paid up to date. He assured Boavista fans that the “club is not dead” but things increasingly have gone from bad to worse with injuries to key players such as Salvador Agra, Gaius Makouta, and Sebastian Perez, as well as the loss of Chidozie Awaziem and Bruno Onyamechi to AFCON, and the possible sale of Pedro Malheiro to Benfica to bring in some much-needed cash. To put it simply, Boavista’s already depleted squad looks decimated. 

Sérgio Conceição remarkably kept Porto within touching distance of top spot with another 1-0 win against rock bottom Chaves in their last league game, but once again there was a lack of spark, attacking intent, and general positivity in his side’s performance, something that has really held them back this season. With the departure of Fran Navarro on loan to Olympiacos (managed by former Rio Ave and Braga manager Carlos Carvalhal) and the potential departure of other players who have not conformed to the Conceição way, perhaps some new faces will come in January to breathe some life into this team. That being said, a Porto triumph over Boavista is fully expected and would keep the Dragons in the hunt for the title.

Arouca v Benfica – two teams on the up

Saturday evening sees the remaining two teams from the top four play with Benfica away at Arouca, and Braga hosting 5th-place Vitoria. After securing Europa league football, Benfica have pushed on domestically and seemed to have turned a corner. Manager Roger Schmidt was forced to give out-of-favour players such as Arthur Cabral and Tiago Araújo an opportunity in the starting XI last time out against Famalicão, and was repaid with a goal from Cabral and another impressive display from Araújo. January may see new players arrive at the Estádio da Luz (20-year-old Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo has already joined from Santos for €18M) and those who have failed to impress could move further down the pecking order. Bizarrely, there hasn’t been any sign of Benfica signing a player for the fullback positions, their biggest weakness and an area Arouca could exploit.

Daniel Sousa has certainly got Arouca scoring again with Cristo González and Rafa Mújica’s goals well documented, but the creativity of Spanish winger Jason and the under the radar consistency of Morlaye Sylla also should not be ignored. If Arouca are to have any chance of getting a result against Benfica they’ll have to test Benfica’s mental stability. Arouca have the attacking talent and firepower to cause Benfica’s back line problems and will want to sew doubt into the minds of Benfica players and fans by being on the front foot, and looking to make their mark on the game from the first whistle. Whichever team scores first could be the defining factor of this game.

Minho derby promises fireworks

The Minho derby rarely fails to disappoint and this year should be no exception. Braga continue to bang in the goals though they will be without top scorer Simon Banza who heads off to the Cote D’Ivoir to represent his native DR Congo at the AFCON. Abel Ruiz will likely come into the XI but he’s only scored 2 of Braga’s 62 goals this season. In contrast, one of Victória’s biggest improvements under Álvaro Pacheco has been their defensive stability and the centre-back trio Jorge Fernandes, Toni Borevkovic and Tomas Ribeiro have brought some much-needed experience and leadership to the team. They will hope André Silva can get scoring again against Braga’s now famously weak defence and Jota Silva is in a good vein of form. Everything points to lots of goals in this one so make sure you catch it if you can. 

Five players to keep an eye on this weekend

Rodrigo Gomes (Estoril): Rodrigo Gomes’ performances for Estoril this season have been at times breathtaking, so much so that he has caught the attention of Wolves from the Premier League with a rumoured €12M bid being prepared for the young winger. It’s worth reiterating the right wing-back is not his natural position, and though he is much stronger going forward than back, he is developing incredibly well and getting better week after week.

Jota Silva (Vitoria): With 2 goals in his last 4 games, Jota Silva is starting to solidify his place in Vitoria’s attack under Álvaro Pacheco. The winger is having to play a bit closer to the striker rather than hugging the touchline but he’s adapting well and is showing signs of finding his shooting boots.

Casper Tengstedt / Petar Musa / Arthur Cabral (Benfica): Whichever Benfica striker gets the nod to play against Arouca, they will need to make it count not only for the team but for themselves. At the time of writing Benfica have all but confirmed the signing of Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo for €18M and may look to sell someone to cover the cost. 

Serdar Saatci (Braga): The young Turkish centre back has arguably been the most consistent player in Braga’s back line this season. He has shown to have a mistake in him but with Sikou Niakaté off to AFCON he has an opportunity to cement his place in the team.

Héctor Hernández (Chaves): Maybe it’s too early to call Chaves v Portimonense as a 6-pointer but both teams are desperate for a win. Chaves are losing key players Guima, Langa and Correia to AFCON meaning other players will have to step up. Hernández has only scored one goal in his last 7 games having scored 7 in his first 8 games this season.

by Barney Carter-Phillips (@LongBallFutebol)