Sporting CP play CS Marítimo on Saturday night

Sporting Clube de Portugal travel to the island of Madeira to face CS Marítimo on Saturday. Ahead of the Liga Portugal match, coach Rúben Amorim attended a press conference to discuss the fixture and noted the difference between the weekend's opposition now and when they first met this season.

"They are a much more confident team. The new coach has done an excellent job and I think they are also more attacking. They have stronger ideas about their play, they don't change their identity so much depending on the opponents and playing at home they will want a different result from the first game. We have to win, which is always our obligation. Winning the game and, above all, playing well, is what we want every week", said the coach, also stressing that "playing in Madeira is always tough".

"CS Marítimo are in favourable form, are growing and have brought back a player like Bruno Xadas, who gives them another quality. But there are two places in the Champions League available and we want to reach the first one", Amorim commented, going on to address the way in which his side will overcome the absences of the suspended Pablo Sarabia, João Palhinha and Bruno Tabata -as well as the injured Pedro Gonçalves.

"We are more of a team than in the first half of the season. We don't have these players who are sidelined, but we have others and they can give different nuances to our game. This is good, and means that the other coaches do not have references for us. There is more uncertainty about the starting XI that we will field, and those players who aren't playing that much know that they can win a place at any moment".

"We're going to use these nuances to have a great game in Madeira and I'm going to take advantage of this uncertainty to surprise the opposition in some way".

One of these changes could involve Marcus Edwards, who Amorim states "is another option and could be a starter. He is better adapted to the team now".

"We have had one more complete training session this week and we tested out several things. On the other hand, we are already used to playing all the time and that is a very important step, hence my conviction that next year we will be even better. For this season, the group always believes and anything can happen, right until the end".

After this game, the team will face FC Porto on Wednesday at the Estádio José Alvalade, in the first leg of the Taça de Portugal semi-final. However, Amorim reinforced that the focus is on CS Marítimo.

"Each game is a final, so we are always focused on the next game. We will come into this one in the same way, with a strong team looking to win and thinking only about this game".