Primeira Liga Jornada 34 preview: Titanic battle for third place and three-way fight to escape relegation

It’s hard to believe, but after 33 rounds of Primeira Liga football the end of the season is finally upon us.

The last few weeks have seen a lot decided – the league title going to Sporting, Vizela and Chaves relegated – but there is still a lot to play for going into the last day of the season for certain clubs. 

Braga host Porto in third-place showdown

It’s rare that the final day of the league season offers us a truly mouthwatering game with so much riding on it, but that’s exactly what we have on Saturday night as Braga and Porto play out the final game of the 2023/24 Primeira Liga season. Not only is this a tantalising derby between two northern clubs, but it’s a game which will decide which of the two will finish in 3rd place and take an all-important Europa League spot. 

It’s been a long season for both clubs, and a season which has taken its toll on the morale of the players and fans as both clubs have underperformed, and dealt with off-field distractions. Braga lost their manager with six games to go and no immediate replacement lined up, and Porto have a new president after over 40 years under Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, and speculation about what changes Andre Villas Boas will make to the management team and playing squad have left Porto under a cloud of uncertainty, but has also brought optimism.

The same thing is required from both teams on Saturday: one last push. The difference between Europa League football and Europa Conference League football cannot be underestimated both financially and in terms of prestige, not to mention the boost to morale a big win in a tough end-of-season game would bring. Interestingly, both teams won in their respective local derbies last weekend with Porto coming from behind to beat Boavista 2-1, and Braga putting in a good performance against Vitória and winning 3-2 in Guimarães.

Goals galore

Porto are unbeaten in their last six Primeira Liga matches, while Braga have lost twice in the same period and have struggled to convince since the departure of Artur Jorge. They never failed to entertain the neutral however with recent score lines including a 3-2 win over Vitoria, a 4-3 victory over Casa Pia, and a 5-3 triumph over Portimonense showing that they’re as prolific going forward as they are shaky at the back. Defensive weakness could be a real problem against Porto who have a lot of attacking talent going forward, but Braga’s own success in front of goal, combined with the importance of this game to both teams, means that whatever happens, it is likely to be an entertaining game and the perfect way to end the season.

Portimonense, Estrela or Boavista?

At the other end of the table, whilst the automatic relegation spots are decided, three clubs could still be condemned to the two-legged relegation playoff against the 3rd placed team in the Segunda Liga. This is not a fate that any team will want as the last three seasons have all seen the Primeira Liga team relegated at the Segunda Liga team’s expense. The three teams in danger are Boavista (31 points), Estrela da Amadora (30 points) and Portimonense (29 points). It’s fair to say as well that all three teams have tough matches.

Algarve derby

Portimonense are in the most trouble, already in 16th place and needing to win and hope that at least one of the other two teams lose in order to survive. A nice quiet game for them then? No, they’re playing Farense in the Algarve derby, and a Farense side in good form to boot. Getting the right result in front of the Farense ultras at the Estádio de São Luís is a formidable task, made worse by the fact that they haven’t won since 7 April when they beat a downtrodden GD Chaves, and the fact that they’re at a head-to-head disadvantage against Estrela, and have an equal head-to-head record against Boavista but with a worse goal difference, meaning they will finish below both those teams should they finish on the same points.

Estrela have the head-to-head advantage over both Boavista and Portimonense, meaning a point could be enough to keep them up, but they host a Gil Vicente side coming into form which will make their game extremely testing.

Boavista only need a point against Vizela, a team already relegated, but seeing as Vizela won their last game 4-0 against Estrela that is no guarantee. Either way, with all three games kicking off simultaneously at 3.30pm on Saturday, it’s going to be fascinating to keep track on who is in 16th place throughout the afternoon. 

Three players to keep an eye on this weekend

Chico Conceição (Porto): Porto will be highly motivated in their game against Braga, and Francisco Conceição personally will want to make a mark on this game. Not only will he want to cap off a breakout season with a good performance, he’ll want to be the man to help Porto into 3rd place and secure Europa League football. It could also be the last league game he plays with his father as Porto manager, depending on the direction the new administration goes over the summer.

Hélio Varela (Portimonense): Portimonense need their players to step up in their final game of the season, if they’re to avoid the relegation playoff. Hélio Varela is the type of player that could provide the spark they need. An exciting attacking winger capable of hurting any defence in the league, he is only let down by his end product at times, but he scored a 97th-minute equaliser against Rio Ave last week and could be Portimonense’s most dangerous player.

Rodrigo Pinho (Estrela Amadora): Estrela Amadora haven’t scored a goal in their last four games, which is very worrying for a team that needs a result on the last day of the season. One striker they have in their ranks is former Marítimo and Benfica man Rodrigo Pinho whose goals for Marítimo earned him a high profile move to the Eagles, before heading back to his native Brazil. He’s not found the same form as he did in his last spell in Portugal since joining Estrela, but scored a wonderful goal against Boavista a few weeks ago, and we know has the ability to score, something Estrela badly need.

by Albert Carter-Phillips (@LongBallFutebol)