Sporting take on Porto in the Portuguese Super Cup match. The match will be played on Saturday, August 3rd at Estádio Municipal de Aveiro (Aveiro).
Sporting confidently and prematurely won the league title last season, becoming the best team in the Primeira Liga for the second time in four years. During the off-season, the Lisbon team played two friendly matches: they defeated Spanish teams Sevilla (2-1) and Athletic (3-0), and drew with Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise (2-2). In my opinion, compared to last season, Sporting's squad has noticeably weakened. They lost their second top scorer, Paulinho (15 goals and 5 assists in the league), who left for Mexican side Toluca. Greek player Coates (4 goals) moved to Uruguayan club Nacional. Nuno Santos (4 goals and 10 assists) is in the infirmary with a knee injury. The team's top scorer, Swedish player Viktor Gyökeres (29 goals and 10 assists), has just recovered from an injury and played only an hour in one of the summer friendlies. As for incoming transfers, they have signed Bosnian goalkeeper Vladan Kovačević from Raków and Belgian defender Sebastiaan Bornauw from Anderlecht.
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Over the past six years, the Portuguese champions have alternated between Benfica, Sporting, and Porto, each winning twice. Last season, the "Dragons" underperformed, finishing with only bronze medals. However, they have been much more successful in national cup competitions, winning three domestic cups, two Super Cups, and one League Cup over the previous four seasons. In the off-season, Iranian player Mehdi Taremi (6 goals and 4 assists last season) moved to Inter, but the "Dragons" managed to retain their two best attacking players: Brazilians Evanilson (13 goals and 3 assists) and Galeno (9 goals and 7 assists). Francisco Conceição was bought from Ajax. There have been no high-profile signings for Porto so far, mainly players returning from loans. Nevertheless, the current squad was enough to secure eight convincing victories in eight summer friendlies with a total score of 29-3. While the Brazilian goal scorers have been quiet, Spanish player Nico (7 goals) and Portuguese player Borges (4 goals) have been dazzling in attack during these friendlies.
Bookmakers still believe that Sporting has a slightly better chance of starting the new season with a trophy. I beg to differ. Firstly, Porto has been more successful in cup competitions in recent years. Secondly, Porto is a very tough opponent for Sporting. Consider this: in the last ten head-to-head matches, the "Green-Whites" have only managed to beat Porto once. Last season, they lost to Porto in extra time in the Portuguese Cup final (1-2). In 2023, Porto won the decisive League Cup match (2-0). And in 2022, the "Dragons" stopped the "Lions" in the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup (2-1 and 1-0). I believe that Vítor Bruno's team will at least not lose in regular time. Porto has retained its key attackers, looked excellent in friendly matches, and Borges and Nico are in great form. The coach has tried various formations with one, two, and three attackers. On the other hand, one of Sporting's top scorers from last season is already scoring in Mexico, and the other has just recovered from an injury and is unlikely to play at full strength. Considering all this, I am betting on a Double Chance for Porto (X2).
Prediction for the match: Porto not to lose (X2).
