Primeira Liga Matchday 3 preview: Team news, stats, key fixtures

Topics: Primeira Liga, Sporting CP, Benfica, Braga, Porto, TV Schedules, TV Listings

Benfica has so far attained a 100 percent start in its quest to defend the league title but that could change with rivals FC Porto coming to town on Saturday.

Overview

Matchday 3 could present Benfica the opportunity to further stamp its dominance having began the new quest on the right footing. Last season's champions have picked up from where it left off things by leaping ahead of the pack with respective wins against Pacos de Ferreira and Belenenses SAD.

Despite losing academy prodigy Joao Felix to Atletico Madrid this summer, Bruno Lage's side has seemingly retained its ruthlessness with seven goals to show for while conceding none. Quite surprisingly, new entrants Famalicao are keenly following the blueprint of the defending champions by being just the second side in the league with a 100 percent win record. Likewise, the Estadio Municipal 22 de Junho outfit is yet to concede and have three goals to the good in games against Rio Ave and CD Santa Clara respectively.

It may be early days yet but FC Porto and Sporting CP would have to put in maximum work and play catch-up if they indeed fancy the idea of challenging Benfica for the title just as it has been the case in almost every new season. The former, in particular, has a first-hand opportunity to put a dent in the league leaders' 100 percent start when it travels to Estadio de Luz in the weekend's blockbuster. What better way to build on the win against Victoria Setubal in Matchday 2 than to defeat the reigning champions away from home?

For Sporting, the 1-1 draw in the league opener against Maritimo came as a surprise but the triumph over Braga should be a prelude to ensure a better performance in the upcoming trip to Portimonense. Heading into the third round of matches, Paços de Ferreira and Rio Ave will be aiming to find their scoring boots having failed to register a single goal in the ongoing campaign. Having finished the 2018/2019 campaign in the mid-table, there is optimism for the pair to regroup and deliver the goods in the fixtures coming up.

Team news: Who is injured or suspended for Matchday 3?

Benfica: The league leaders will be without a host of its star players in the upcoming clash with FC Porto. The likes of Tyronne Ebuehi, Germán Conti, Gedson Fernandes, Gabriel Pires, and Jhonder Cádiz are all expected to be ruled out with injuries. David Tavares and Andre Gomes Almeida are, however, back in training.

Famalicao: The second-place side will aim to keep up the momentum but will be without Nicolás Schiappacasse who is sidelined with a thigh injury.

FC Porto: Just like Benfica, Porto also has a tall injury list to worry about ahead of the blockbuster encounter this weekend. Mamadou Loum Ndiaye, Sérgio Oliveira, André Pereira, Iker Casillas, Fabiano and Marius Mouandilmadji are all expected to be unavailable.

Sporting CP: For last season's Taca de Portugal champions, Stefan Ristovski and Valentin Rosier are expected to miss the trip to Portimonense. Bruno Gaspar and Jovane Cabral returned to training this week but remain a doubt.

Key facts

Benfica enters Matchday 3 on a 11-game winning streak in the Primeira Liga.
Portimonense will be chasing its second league triumph over Sporting CP in over a decade.
Only Benfica and Famalicao are yet to concede a goal in the new campaign.

Social media: How are the top teams preparing for Matchday 3?

FC Porto:

Modo Clássico #FCPorto #SLBFCP pic.twitter.com/l1NAaOysHN
— FC Porto (@FCPorto) August 20, 2019

Benfica:

Semana de clássico! #SLBFCP #PeloBenfica pic.twitter.com/8Zvnf5agEL
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica) August 19, 2019

Sporting CP:

"Harder, better, faster, stronger"
Our focus is on Sunday's match

https://t.co/zFo4cB8j4f #SportingCP pic.twitter.com/gGj0qxYksa
— Sporting CP_en (@SportingCP_en) August 16, 2019