Jorge Jesus includes 19 in squad for Sunday's encounter

Jorge Jesus has named a squad of 19 players to travel to Arouca on Sunday, on Liga NOS matchday 10:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício and Marcelo Boeck

Defenders: João Pereira, Ricardo Esgaio, Paulo Oliveira, Naldo, Tobias Figueiredo and Jefferson

Midfielders: William Carvalho, Bruno Paulista, Adrien, João Mário and André Martins

Forwards: Gelson Martins, Matheus Pereira, Bryan Ruiz, Montero, Teo Gutiérrez and Slimani

Arouca-Sporting will get underway at 20h30 on Sunday, in the Arouca Municipal Stadium.

Jorge Jesus expecting his team to respond after Thursday's defeat in Albania

Jorge Jesus warned caution for his side's trip to Arouca this weekend, speaking in a press conference on Saturday afternoon.

“Basically all we have had time to do was arrive, sleep and travel to Arouca. The time we had was more about getting some sleep. It is going to be a hard game, because Arouca have only lost one game in nine and haven't lost any in the last nine. It will be a really competitive and tough game and we will have to be at our best to win, which we have to do if we want to keep the gap at the top of the table", opened the Alvalade coach, adding: "It is nice to be on the back of a good string of results in the league, but it is hard to defend first place. It brings with it a lot of responsibility and we have to learn to live with that now."

Bombarded with questions abut the 3-0 Europa League loss in Albania in midweek, Jesus didn't shy away: “What happened in Albania is behind us now. It was part of an important competition, but our main focus is the match tomorrow. It was a bad night, but that can happen in football. We want to carry on building on the positives, namely us being at the top of the league. When I arrived at Sporting I said we would fight for the league and every competition we are in here in Portugal, which is exactly what we are doing. I accepted the risks and nothing is going to change our plans for this season. In fact, things are going better than I thought they would, because we are in first place and we have already won a title."

To finish, Jorge Jesus spoke about a conversation with the 4th official against Estoril that has been attacking the headlines, as well as recent praise from the Alvalade president, Bruno de Carvalho: "I am really not worried about what happened against Estoril. It was a conversation between me and the 4th official and I said I already knew him, because he had sent me off in Moreira de Cónegos. What I said is only to do with that and everything else is speculation. I was really happy with the praise (from the president) and we all like to hear nice things being said about us. It was him who believed in me and him who signed me, so I feel proud. I know the differences between my players and some others, but for me the best coach in the world is Pep Guardiola."

Braga Football Association official for Liga NOS matchday 10

Cosme Machado, 39, from the Braga Football Association, has been named to take charge of Sporting's visit to Arouca, on Liga NOS matchday 10.

Alfredo Braga and Pedro Fernandes will act as linesmen.

Arouca-Sporting will kick off at 20h30 Sunday the 8th of November, in the Arouca Municipal Stadium. Sporting Currently occupy the top of the Liga NOS table with 23 points, while Arouca are in 9th with 12. 

Tickets on sale starting Thursday

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 10, between Futebol Clube de Arouca and Sporting Clube de Portugal will go on sale at the Estádio José Alvalade (from 10h00 to 20h00) as follows:

THURSDAY | Club Members with a Gamebox 2015/2016 and October 2015 fees paid
FRIDAY | Club Members without a Gamebox and October 2015 fees paid
SATURDAY | General public

The match will kick off at 20h30 on Sunday the 8th of November, in the Arouca Municipal Stadium. Tickers are priced at 20€ each.

For Sporting fans in the north of the country, tickets will also be on sale at the Solar do Norte Delegation (Porto) and the Gondomar and São João da Madeira Sporting Supporters' Clubs.

Jorge Jesus highlights the importance of keeping a grip on first place after win against Estoril

Speaking at the final whistle after watching Sporting open up a five-point lead at the top of I Liga, Jorge Jesus highlighted his side's recent defensive performances, having only let in two goals in the last five encounters.

“There were some tough periods tonight, with Estoril creating problems like we thought they would. When a team is in first, it is normal to have games like this one, but I thought the lads showed that they knew what to do and took the right decisions. Sometimes it looks like we are taking one touch too many, but that is how we have been training. Estoril positioned themselves well defensively, but we fixed some things in the second-half and improved. We had more opportunities and wasted some chances on open goal. The most important factor was that we didn't concede, because we are strong defensively. That is what won us this game", opened the Alvalade boss in a flash interview.

In parallel, Jesus spoke about the importance of winning after last week's 3-0 derby win: “It was important to win after the match in Estádio da Luz, because every match is worth three points. Today we had 40 thousand people in the stadium and that is a sign of the fans' confidence in us. It was important to stay top of the league, because if we think it was hard to get where we are then it will be even harder to stay there, but that is what makes champions."

William Carvalho's reaction to 1-0 win over Estoril

William Carvalho was given the captain's armband in place of the suspended Adrien against Estoril on Saturday.

Speaking about his side's performance, the Portuguese international commented: “We started well and we had a lot of possession, but we didn't create that many chances. After half-time we tired Estoril out. It was a good result and the lads deserve a pat on the back. It was worth another three points and we have to keep winning now. There are a lot of matches to play until the end of the season and we want to stay at the top of the league. We will keep putting the work in and our opponents should be worried about us."

Goal Teo Gutiérrez goal gives Sporting five point lead at the top of I Liga

Sporting held firm against a stubborn Estoril this Saturday evening, claiming a well-earned three points courtesy of a penalty converted on by Teófilo Gutiérrez at the start of the second-half.

With Gelson in for the suspended Adrien and the deployment of João Mário down the middle of the park, it was was obvious from early on that Estoril had come to Alvalade looking for an upset. In fact the visitors could have taken the lead after just 40 seconds, when Dieguinho took a first crack at Rui Patrício. Sporting held down the majority of possession, but space was scarce in the final third and closed defensive ranks starved the encounter of creativity, while Estoril looked happy to attack on the break down the flanks. On 18 minutes, after Slimani had come close with a header, Bruno César pulled a superb diving save out of Patrício.

Sporting livened up around the half-hour mark, pegging Estoril back and securing play in the opposition half. However, the forward lines were finding it difficult to create a clean chance on goal and a blank scoreboard at half-time was largely fair.

The interval proved just the trick for Jorge Jesus' side, with the Sporting coach's fine-tuning unlocking Estoril at the back. Chance after chance followed, including a 50th minute golden opportunity that Bryan Ruiz was unable to convert on after a cross from João Pereira. Just seconds earlier Mano looked to have cut out a cross with his arm, but the referee waved away the appeals for a spot kick.

The goal finally game in the 55th minute, when some collective play found Teófilo Gutiérrez just off to the side of the six-yard box, only for the Colombian to be brought down for a penalty that he himself calmly slotted in. The goal blew a whole in the heart of the Estoril defence and more chances naturally followed. Gelson forced a stop out of Kieszek in the 57th minute and nine minutes later Jefferson came painfully close to doubling the lead. Sporting could well have killed the game off with a series of opportunities as the clock ticked down and Bruno César fired a shot over in the 88th minute for the visitors, while there was still time for both Matheus Pereira and Bruno Paulista to make their I Liga debuts.

The result sees Sporting move five points clear at the top of I Liga.

Jorge Jesus includes 18 players to host Estoril

Jorge Jesus has named 18 players in his squad for Saturday's hosting of Estoril in Estádio José Alvalade, on I Liga matchday 9:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício and Marcelo Boeck

Defenders: Jefferson, Ewerton, Tobias, Paulo Oliveira and João Pereira

Midfielders: William, João Mário, André Martins and Bruno Paulista

Forwards: Slimani, Montero, Teo Gutierrez, Bryan Ruiz, Carlos Mané, Gelson Martins and Matheus Pereira

Sporting-Estoril will get underway at 20h45 on Saturday, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Jorge Jesus shares his thoughts on Saturday's hosting of Estoril

“We want to carry on in first and we will do everything possible to defend that”, opened Jorge Jesus in a pre-match press conference on Friday, ahead of his side’s hosting of Estoril.

Coming into the encounter on the back of a moralising 3-0 away win against Benfica, the Sporting coach warned caution against the weekend’s visitors: “We know we will be playing against one of the strongest teams in the league. They have quality players and they will cause problems for us. We have been working hard during the week to be ready and we don’t underestimate anybody, especially Estoril. We have identified certain targets, such as Bruno César, who was my player and he is strong from dead ball situations.

“As soon as you go clear at the top of the league, you become a target for the teams that are fighting for that position. There is still a long way to go, but we want to be at the top of the league for as long as possible”, added the Sporting coach, finishing: “We are hoping that the fans turn out in force. It is for them that we work hard to give them quality and something to be happy about week in week out. We have scored 17 goals and only conceded two in the last four games, which I am obviously happy about and it shows the work we have been putting in.”

Sporting-Estoril will kick off on Saturday at 20h45, in Estádio José Alvalade.

Jorge Ferreira for I Liga matchday 9

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