Jorge Jesus ahead of Saturday's hosting of Arouca

Jorge Jesus is expecting a tough hosting of Arouca this Saturday, on Liga NOS matchday 27. However, the Alvalade boss is confident that his side will come away with the three points.

“Arouca are having a decent enough season. They are in fifth and are trying to defend that position. They have already taken points off our main rivals as well. We know it will be hard, against a team who are good on the break. They are a decent side for this league, but we are ready. The lads are in good shape and we are in the fight for the title", opened the Sporting coach, going on to add a word on what is expected to be another capacity crowd: "Sporting CP is not only battling back its identity when it comes to titles, but also with the fans. Everyone is proud of us once again and our fans are really young. How is it possible that a club that hasn't won a title for 14 years has so many young fans? It really should be a case study."

Jorge Jesus further added that his medical staff are pushing to get Jefferson back into action, but affirmed that he has options to come in for the suspended Marvin: "Esgaio is a player who knows the position and some other players in the squad can play there as well. I am sure whoever plays will do a good job."

“Sporting is the team with most players in the national team and that is a good thing. We have a lot of young players who are going through and to be honest the club is growing right across the board", finished Jesus.