The coach previews a return to league competition against SC Farense

After wins in the Taça de Portugal and Taça da Liga, Sporting Clube de Portugal return to Liga NOS action this weekend against SC Farense. Ahead of the Matchday 10 contest, coach Rúben Amorim previewed the fixture against the newly promoted side from the Algarve.

"It's an historic game in our league that hasn't happened in a long time, but the important thing is to win. We know that they have a very good team in individual and collective terms. They have been improving a lot and already had a great performance at the Estádio da Luz, against Benfica", Amorim warned.

"They have shown good signs, but we want to keep on the path that we are on. We are in good form and all of the squad played this week, which was good and raised the level of the group".

Whilst several less frequently used players had the opportunity to show their skills, Rúben Amorim would not be drawn on possible changes to the attack.

"I had the opportunity to see the press conference with Sérgio Vieira, the coach of SC Farense, and he didn't reveal much about his defense either, so I won't say anything about our attack. We have all of our players ready, they have responded excellently and, as always, we will choose the best options for tomorrow's very tough game".

As for individual players, the coach said that Nuno Mendes will be in the squad, whilst Jovane Cabral is unlikely to feature. "He is making his recovery but he still has a small problem. We are taking great care of him, as he is an important player and we are waiting for him", assessed Amorim.

When asked if Sporting CP are the best team to play in Portugal, he replied that, whilst satisfied with present form, he believes there is still room for improvement.

"We are in good form, clearly, and the credit for that goes to the players. They are all in good form, but that can change from one week to the next. I think Sporting CP are playing very well, but that we can still improve too", he admitted.

"The players themselves are aware of the difficulty of each game and are very concerned with guaranteeing their place in the team, besides guaranteeing the spot in the table".

"We have to work with the young players to be prepared to play for Sporting CP. Above all, they have to be concerned with being prepared to win against SC Farense; that is the most important thing and it is our only concern", he concluded.