​The coach previews Saturday night's league game

In a Friday press conference, Sporting CP coach Rúben Amorim previewed the match against CD Tondela on Matchday 29 of the Liga Portugal season. He had praise for the opposition, stressing that his side must play better than last weekend in order to get the victory.

“I expect the usual game against a team fighting for survival, with talented players and a 5-4-1 formation, which takes away a lot of space in our play. We will have to be creative, mobile and aggressive in the way we attack all the small spaces that CD Tondela might leave," he told the media.

"On the last matchday they played without a forward, with a lot of mobility and they are very strong not only in terms of speed, but also in the way they link up. They are very dangerous. They are very motivated because they won last time out, and they don't have any pressure on them this weekend, so I am predicting a difficult game. As for us, we have to win and play better than last week. That's what we have focused on during the week,” stated the coach.

CD Tondela recently changed coaches, with Nuno Campos now in the dugout. Amorim says he knows what to expect.

“He has specific characteristics and knows the league very well. For me, Pako [Ayestarán] had an excellent season, bringing together very talented kids with a good way of playing. I think they maintain that same shape, but a Portuguese coach adapts better to what the game asks for."

Sporting CP side will be without João Palhinha and Nuno Santos through suspension, as well as the injured Zouhair Feddal.

“Feddal felt some discomfort  in training and will be out. We are going to include José Marsà in the squad and everybody else is ready to be called up. We had periods in the last game that weren't good and we tried to work on that, and there is internal competition for places. We want to get back to having great performances and, above all, win the game."

“We have a lot of belief that we can win every game. Winning all the games would give us a very high points tally, and then we shall see what might happen. We have to believe until the last moment. By winning our games, we get closer to something happening. If we lose or draw, everything becomes much more difficult in terms of the title chase."

In Tondela, Amorim will take charge of his 100th game with Sporting CP. He commented on this, saying that “I hope to be here for 100 more. My goal is to stay at Sporting CP for many years, but it all depends on the results and the most immediate match is that against CD Tondela."