Primeira Liga - Team news, key fixtures ahead of Matchday 2

Topics: Primeira Liga, Belenenses, Benfica, Vitoria Setubal, Porto, TV Schedules, TV Listings

Benfica will try to keep up with the good work after their win on Matchday 1, while Porto tries to shake off that unexpected loss against Gil Vicente.

The first weekend in the Portuguese Primeira Liga gave reasons to believe that this will be a different type of tournament.

For starters, Porto was shocked in their clash against Gil Vicente, where the recently-promoted side earned a well-deserved 2-1 win. Meanwhile, defending champions Benfica had no problem in beating Paços de Ferreira with an emphatic 5-0 victory. The other member of the "Big Three", Sporting, struggled to earn a one-all draw against Moreirense.

This week, Benfica will try to keep up the good work in their trip to Belenenses' Stadium, while Porto tries to make ammends with their fans by looking for their first win of the season against Vitoria Setubal. Last, but not least, Sporting will also try to collect three points when they clash against Braga in what will be the best match to watch on Sunday.

Team news - Who's in, who's out?

Benfica's may have earned a comfortable win last week, but things at their training ground have not changed in the medical department. Gabriel Pires and Gedson Fernandes are still out due to injury, which will give coach Bruno Lage some problems to sort his lineup.

Porto will not have Loum and Sergio Oliveira available for this week, which will complucate things a bit for coach Sergio Conceicao after their losses against Gil Vicente and Krasnodar, which left them out of the UEFA Champions League.

Sunday's clash will see Sporting battling Braga without Stefan Ristovski and Rodrigo Battaglia, who's long-term injuries might keep them on the sidelines for quite a while.

Coach's quotes ahead of Matchday 2

Benfica's coach Bruno Lage referred to the possibility of winning back-to-back trophies with Benfica, following a late surge that saw his team leapfrog Porto with an impressive unbeaten streak last season. Lage believes that his team will be capable of doing so, even if they missed out on some big names during the transfer window.

"We have a very competitive squad. It's true that some players had more playing time during the preseason, and we have to work on that same direction. The league has not begun yet, and we have to be sure of our chances before we take the pitch on Saturday."

Key stats ahead of Primeira Liga's Matchday 2

Benfica has scored four or more goals in 13 games since Bruno Lage's appointment as coach.
Porto lost the opening match for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
Sporting has scored at least two goals in six of their last seven home games.
Porto has won 31 out of their last 33 matches against Vitoria Setubal in all comps.
Benfica enters this game on a ten-match winning streak.

What is social media talking about ahead of Matchday 2?

Porto's boss Sergio Conceicao defended his lineup choices while admitting the team could suffer due to their transfer activity. The Dragons' tactician dismissed the possibility of watching this complicated moment going on for a while.

"It's just one of those moments that can happen everywhere; I have plenty of confidence in what I do and in my players."

@CoachConceicao: "Momentos menos bons acontecem em todo o lado. É um momento. Tenho muita confiança no que faço e nos meus jogadores"#FCPorto #FCPVFC
— FC Porto (@FCPorto) August 16, 2019