Jorge Jesus ahead of Saturday's showdown with FC Porto

“The way we prepare for a game is the same, no matter who we play against. Strategy can change depending on who we are playing against, but our methodology doesn't", opened Jorge Jesus in his pre-match press conference this Friday afternoon, ahead of the weekend's visit to FC Porto.

For the Alvalade coach, this is the ideal time to face FC Porto: "We are near the end of the season and we have hardly anyone injured. I have all the options I want in the squad, which is nice. It will be a hard match with not only three points to win, but potentially first place as well. We are, as always, feeling calm and confident. We will have a great match tomorrow. Both teams have their objectives fixed now, but that doesn't take any pressure off FC Porto. They will want to win and to play well, just like we will. We have been better than FC Porto over the 31 matches played this season and we have 10 more points than them, but that doesn't take away from the quality they have."

Jesus was naturally in his normal analytical mood, taking a closer look at Saturday's opponent: “We will face two really good wing-backs who go on the attack. One of them played for me for six years. Of course we will pay a bit of extra attention to both of them, but that won't change much what we normally do. We aren't going to move away from how we attack."

This weekend could prove pivotal in the title race. “There are nine points to play for and I think we could have had a lot more. The numbers show what a great season it has been, but we are missing the cherry on the top of the cake. We believe we are in with a chance and we will until the last game of the season. The confidence we are felling right now didn't drop from the sky, it comes from the work we put in on the training pitch", said Jesus, finishing: "Benfica and Sporting CP have won pretty much every game and it is a blow for blow race for the title. Of course V. Guimarães could stop Benfica, just like U. Madeira could have stopped us. Let's wait and see what happens, but the most important thing is that we play well against FC Porto."