The Sporting CP coach predicts a difficult match on Saturday

Sporting Clube de Portugal will face SC Braga this Saturday at the Estádio Municipal de Braga, on the second matchday of the Liga Portugal.

Ahead of the game -the second between the two teams already this season- coach Rúben Amorim said he expected a “harder” game than the Supertaça showdown, which Sporting CP won 2-1.

“We have footage of them and we can prepare more carefully for this game, but the SC Braga coach can also do that. Now he will have some players available, such as Lucas Piazón and Fábio Martins, who give him more options. Each game has its own story, but we want to win and continue a winning run", said Amorim.

"It's an important game at an early time in the season, but we like these games”, he continued, before confirming that new signing Manuel Ugarte will be available for the contest.

“He arrived here in very good shape physically, and is a better player than I thought. We are very happy about that. He is one more option that can be used. He has adapted quickly, and Coates' assistance contributed a lot. He is very intelligent and, despite being only 20 years old, he already has some experience and is very mature. When this is the case, integration is easier. He has characteristics that are somewhat similar to João Palhinha, but is different in some aspects".

Also fit to play is Pedro Porro, with Amorim saying that: “He was injured at the beginning of the preseason and didn't play any of our friendlies. Still, he performed very well in training. He has surprised us and is also an option. We are happy because he is a quality player and he was very important last season".

Nuno Mendes will be the only player unavailable this weekend, with his return date unconformed: “He's doing conditioning work and we don't have a date for his comeback. What we want is for him to recover fully, because he is a great asset to our team and we need our players at 100%".

"Our focus is to win the game, have an excellent performance and improve".