Football Season Guide

Sporting will be trying to do much better than last season. This will be Jorge Jesus' third term as Sporting's gaffer, and the supporters are really hoping for some success at last. Last season, Sporting were out of the title race way too soon. Knowing Jorge Jesus' profile, Leões will give absolute priority to the league. In order to attack the title, Sporting have been focused on more experienced players for the defence such as former Barcelona centre-half Jeremy Mathieu and full-back Fábio Coentrão arriving on loan from Real Madrid. In the midfield, and perhaps preparing already a possible departure of the two most sought players of the squad – Adrien and William Carvalho – Rodrigo Battaglia, from Braga, and Bruno Fernandes from Serie A are good options for the season. Meanwhile Petrovic, returning from a loan at Rio Ave, will also give good depth to the options. Acuña arrives from Argentina, and is Jesus' bet for the left side of the attack, where Bryan Ruiz seems to be losing his place. Doumbia, coming from AS Roma, is a big name signing for the attack but it seems that youngster Daniel Podence is the number one candidate to be the support to goalscoring machine Bas Dost. Iuri Medeiros returns from a loan at Boavista and will be hoping to finally settle in Sporting's main squad and be a valid option from the bench. Keeping key players like goalkeeper Rui Patrício, and flamboyant winger Gelson Martins for now while also managing to avoid the departures of William and Adrien makes Sporting a strong candidate to the title. When compared to last season, it seems that there are more options for different scenarios. If Fábio Coentrão and Mathieu manage to keep up with the physical demands of a the whole season, Sporting will likely be a more solid side altogether. The fans will be hoping for Bas Dost to keep up his goalscoring form and Daniel Podence is the one player that might be entering the radar of international leagues this season.