The championship is back in the week in which it became known that Rúben Amorim will say goodbye to Sporting.
There is no longer any talk of anything else. The bomb that exploded at the beginning of the week in Portuguese football, more precisely in Alvalade, left Sporting fans in real despair. Rúben Amorim is very close to becoming Manchester United’s coach, and today’s duel with Estrela Amadora will be the first of the last three games that the Portuguese coach will play in the lion’s kingdom. It is in this unexpected way that another round of the Primeira Liga will begin, with FC Porto and Benfica continuing to chase Sporting, the current leader of the championship. The fight for fourth place is also in full swing, with the sensational Santa Clara ahead of SC Braga, a regular customer in that position. Here are the games for the 10th round of the Primeira Liga 2024/2025.
- Sporting x Estrela Amadora – Friday 8:15 pm
As already said, Rúben Amorim will say bye bye against Sporting in the coming weeks and the meeting with Estrela Amadora will be the last of the championship at home for the still coach of the lions. Sporting has not yet lost or drawn in the league, and wants to add its 10th consecutive victory to remain isolated in first place. The green and white team has been playing high quality football, with Gyokeres showing every week that he continues to be the best player playing in Portugal.
Estrela Amadora visits Alvalade in 16th place with just six points, and knows it will have to have a perfect night if it wants to surprise the lion at its own home. Escaping the relegation places is the Tricolores’ immediate objective, but this is certainly not the ideal game for that. Nani, a former Sporting player, returns to a home he knows so well and where he was once happy, and hopes to start against his favorite club, saying goodbye to Rúben Amorim.
- Rio Ave x Casa Pia – Saturday 3:30 pm
In case of victory, Rio Ave will equal Casa Pia in the table, which currently occupies ninth place with 11 points. It is therefore an extremely important meeting for the Vila do Conde team, who are coming off a heavy defeat at Luz against Benfica, and will want to redeem themselves in front of their associates.
On the side of Pina Manique’s team, there are many headaches for coach João Pereira, who cannot count on some players because they are injured, and also Ricardo Batista, who is suspended. Casa Pia’s objective is to guarantee its maintenance in the top tier of Portuguese football, but if it is possible to climb a few more steps in the classification, it will not say no to that possibility.
- Farense x Benfica – Saturday 6pm
With one game in hand, Benfica travels to the Algarve to try to win three more points, which will allow them to remain isolated in third place, and not lose sight of their two eternal rivals in the fight for the national title. The Red and Blacks are in a growing form, and under the guidance of Bruno Lage they have not yet wavered in the championship. Kerem Akturkoglu has been the team’s magician, and continues to enchant the Luz audience.
Farense is having one of the worst starts in its history and finds itself at the bottom with four points. This is clearly not a match for their championship, but playing in front of their fervent audience, the team led by Tozé Marreco promises to do everything they can to steal the three points from the Eagles, something that hasn’t happened in 26 years.
- Gil Vicente x Boavista – Saturday 8:30 pm
Gil Vicente is having a somewhat irregular championship, with two wins, three defeats and four draws, but is still firmly in 10th place. They will host Boavista, who haven’t won since the opening round, and this could be an advantage for the Gilistas. Or not.
Boavista, one of the historical figures of Portuguese football and who was already national champion, is on the edge of the waterline and urgently needs points to take off from Estrela Amadora, who visits Alvalade, so they will want to seek triumph at all costs to breathe a little better in qualifying.
- AVS SAD x Famalicão – Sunday 3:30 pm
After the heavy 5-0 defeat to FC Porto in the previous round, AVS SAD wants to clean up the bad image left at Dragão. Coach Vítor Campelos has his team at full strength to try to take the three points and move up a few more places in the table, knowing that he depends on third parties to make this happen.
Famalicão occupies a comfortable eighth place, with 13 points, and knows that if they win in Vila das Aves they will surpass Vitória SC or Moreirense in the classification, teams that have little difference in points compared to the Famalicenses, and that will face each other between them on this journey.
- Arouca x Braga – Sunday 6pm
Arouca’s coach, Vasco Seabra, will not be able to count on four players in this difficult reception to Braga, but that does not mean he can stop believing in a good result, although the situation of Arouca in the league is delicate, where they are very close to the zone of demotion. After the heavy defeat to Estoril Praia last week, Arouca wants to surprise the arsenalists and reward their fans with a great performance.
Braga, which has always accustomed us to being at the top of the league, is currently in fifth place, and has Santa Clara ahead of them, just one point away. Reaching fourth place is Braga’s biggest desire at the moment, and only three points matter. Amine El Ouazzani and Rodrigo Zalazar are the top scorers for the team coached by Carlos Carvalhal, with six goals each.
- Vitória SC x Moreirense – Sunday 6pm
Vitória SC is comfortably in sixth place, with 15 points, but wants to climb further up the table and surpass its usual rival in the fight for a place in European competitions, SC Braga, which is just above. For this to happen, they will have to beat Moreirense and hope that Braga are defeated by Arouca.
Moreira de Cónegos’ team, if they manage to triumph at the Dom Afonso Henriques Stadium, will surpass the Victorians in the standings, as they are separated by just one point. An exciting and very balanced game is expected between these two teams, recently eliminated from the League Cup.
- FC Porto x Estoril Praia – Sunday 8:30 pm
The undefeated team lives with an increasingly confident team from game to game, and the team in the last round proves this. FC Porto does not give up in its fierce pursuit of leader Sporting, and the only defeat so far in the championship was precisely to the lion. Samu has been the family bag for the blue and whites, and in the last round he scored a hat-trick.
Estoril Praia wants to surprise again at Estádio do Dragão, after the 0-1 victory last season, but they know that it will not be easy to repeat that feat. The Canarinhos are encouraged by the defeat of Arouca in the previous round, and will try to at least take a point from Dragão, which would already be a good result.
- Nacional x Santa Clara – Monday 8:15 pm
In Funchal, Nacional will host Santa Clara, the sensational team of this championship, in what we can call a duel between islands. Nacional occupies the penultimate place with five points and has not won since September 1st, when they defeated Farense. It is now up to the men led by Tiago Margarido to reverse this negative situation, allowing the Madeirans to quickly leave the relegation zone.
It seems like a lie, but it’s true. Fourth place in the championship currently belongs to Santa Clara, and ahead of them are only the big three of Portuguese football. The Azoreans are having an amazing season and want to stay in this position for as long as possible, knowing that SC Braga is already nipping at their heels. Vinícius Lopes has been the company’s star, with four goals scored and one assist.
