European tests for Portuguese quintet

For the first time this season, all five of Portugal’s representatives in UEFA club competitions will be in action in the same week as the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League go into overdrive in the next three days.

Sporting and Braga are on the road, the Lions playing in the Netherlands and the Warriors in Greece, while Benfica, Vitória and Porto welcome Spanish, Slovenian and English opposition respectively to Portuguese soil.

PortuGOAL previews all the aciton. 

PSV Eindhoven v Sporting, Champions League, 01/10/2024

Rúben Amorim’s team have made a flying start to the season, winning all seven of their Primeira Liga matches and their Champions League opener against Lille, scoring 27 goals and conceding just two in the process.

However, PSV boast an almost identical record, also winning 7/7 matches in their league in a free-scoring manner (25 goals), but the Dutch team lost their first Champions League match a fortnight ago against Juventus in Italy.

Both teams have an important player out injured: Pedro Gonçalves for Sporting and Joey Veerman for PSV. Historically Sporting have the upper hand against Dutch opposition, with 12 wins, 3 draws and 5 defeats in 20 matches.

This match in particular is important for Portugal’s ranking in the UEFA Coefficient table, with Portugal and the Netherlands in a direct battle to finish in sixth place at the end of the season.

Vitória v NK Celje, Conference League, 02/10/2024

At long last a Portuguese team will compete in the UEFA Conference League, and after winning all six of their qualifiers, Vitória will be confident of continuing their excellent results in Europe this season against Slovenian outfit NK Celje.

It is also an opportunity to exact revenge after Celje knocked Vitória out of the competition last season in the qualifiers.

Rui Borges’ team started the season brilliantly, winning 10 of their first 11 games in all competitions, but have stuttered recently with two poor displays resulting in a 3-0 defeat at home against Porto and a 1-1 draw at Casa Pia on Saturday.

Nevertheless, Vitória appear to have the perfect chance to bounce back against a Celje side that is sitting a lowly sixth place in the 10-team Slovenian top flight.

The game has the unusual kickoff time of 3.30 pm on Wednesday given that the match could not clash with neighbour’s Braga’s Europa League match on Thursday or the Champions Legue games later on Wednesday.

Benfica v Atletico Madrid, Champions League, 02/10/2024

The appointment of coach Bruno Lage has had an immediate and positive effect on the Eagles, who have reeled off four straight victories since the 48-year-old succeeded Roger Schmidt for his second spell in charge at the Estádio da Luz.

The sequence includes a 2-1 victory in Belgrade in Benfica’s first Champions League match of the new league format, so another win against Atletico in the Portuguese capital will put them in a strong position early in the competition.

However, Atletico also won their first game 2-1, at home against RB Leipzig, and Diego Simeone’s team are one of the toughest sides to play against in Europe. The two teams have met twice before in the Champions League with one victory each, curiously both wins obtained by the away side.

Benfica have a clean bill of health and are likely to be unchanged for the third successive game, with the Turkish duo of Orkun Kökçü and Kerem Aktürkoglu looking to continue their excellent form, while Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak will return to the Luz after representing Benfica in 2013/14.

Olympiacos v Braga, Europa League, 03/10/2024

Braga coach Carlos Carvalhal takes his team to the club he briefly managed last season in search of a second straight win in the Europa League.

While results have been largely positive under Carvalhal since he replaced Daniel Sousa at the start of the season, performances have been up and down and the experienced coach still seems undecided on his best XI, making multiple changes from game to game.

One player who has emerged recently is 20-year-old Ismael Gharbi, the former PSG player showing enormous potential and possibly earning his place in the starting line-up after his game-changing impact from the bench against Nacional last weekend, followed up by a man-of-the-match display in the 4-0 thumping of Rio Ave on Sunday night.

It will also be a quick return to Athens for André Horta, the Braga midfielder having helped the Greek giants win the UEFA Conference League last season while on loan.

The Portuguese connections to Olympiacos do not stop there, with Costinha (ex Rio Ave), David Carmo (ex Braga and Porto), Chiquinho (ex Benfica) and Gelson Martins (ex Sporting) all representing the Greek club.

Porto v Manchester United, Europa League, 03/10/2024

Porto welcome Manchester United to the Estádio do Dragão on Thursday night for a match that on name and prestige alone you would expect to be a Champions League encounter.

FC Porto are rebuilding from top to bottom, with the transition from the Pinto da Costa/Sérgio Conceição era so far going relatively smoothly for new president André Villas-Boas and new coach Vítor Bruno.

Porto have won 7 and lost 2 out of 9 matches in all competitions, but one of the defeats was the shock 3-2 loss at Bodo/Glimt in Norway last week. Given that Manchester United also had a disappointing first game in the Europa League, a 1-1 draw at home to Twente, this match takes on extra significance with a defeat for either side making their task to qualify for the next round more difficult.

The well-documented financial difficulties afflicting Porto meant no big-name signings in the summer, but the new recruits the Dragons brought in have settled well. Young Spanish striker Samu Omorodion especially has made a fantastic start to life at the Portuguese club, scoring 5 goals in 4 matches. Left-back Francisco Moura has also been superb since his switch from Famalicão on transfer deadline day, and Fábio Vieira will be keen to make an impact after coming on a second-half substitute in the 4-0 victory over Arouca for his “second debut”.

Manchester United are in a mess. Despite spending the sort of money in the transfer market over a number of years that Portuguese teams could only dream of, it has not led to noticeable improvements as the famous old club continues to struggle to re-establish itself among the elite following Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.

The current incumbent in the Old Trafford dugout Erik ten Hag is under severe scrutiny after a series of poor results, culminating in the 3-0 home defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, when Seleção midfielder Bruno Fernandes was sent off, and a win for Porto could conceivably spell the end of the road at the English giants for the Dutch manager.

By Tom Kundert