In case of victory, the ‘lions’ will complete 20 games without losing in the championship. The coach of the Alvalade club is still without Debast, Ioannidis and Nuno Santos but is pleased to have avoided extra games in the Champions League.
The Sporting coach expects a difficult match against Estoril, a very dynamic team, with great variability in the offensive process and which could pose new problems on Friday, in Alvalade, for the 24th round of the Primeira Liga.
“I think it’s going to be one of the most difficult games we’ll have during the season. We’re playing against a good team, which is very dynamic in its offensive process. It has some things similar to us in terms of its idea, a lot of positional variability in its offensive process”, said Rui Borges, at the pre-game press conference.
Rui Borges also said that Estoril “is a team that likes to have the ball, very dynamic, with good players and above average players when it comes to making decisions in their offensive actions, mainly”.
In case of victory over Estoril, Sporting will complete a series of 20 games in the Primeira Liga without losing and in which they gave up just two points on the trip to Porto, but, ahead, they will have a cycle of difficult games, with emphasis on the Portuguese Cup game with FC Porto and the round of 16 games of the Champions League.
But, for Rui Borges, the most important thing is to have all the players available for the decisive phase of the season, being certain that he will still not be able to count on the injured Zeno Debast and Fotis Ioannidis, nor on Nuno Santos, the latter still without fitness after the serious injury that sidelined him for a long time.
Regarding the Champions League, he admitted having seen “a good game” between Real Madrid and Benfica, which led to the elimination of the Luz team, and said he was “happy” that Sporting entered directly into the round of 16, avoiding an overload of games.
He also said that the team “will be motivated and super ambitious to be able to continue this fantastic journey that has been this season’s Champions League”.
Sporting, second placed, with 58 points, four less than the leader FC Porto, receives, at 8:45 pm on Friday, Estoril Praia, seventh, with 33 points, in a match of the 24th round of the championship, refereed by Sérgio Coelho (AF Guarda).
With LUSA
