Football Season Guide

Sporting had a season as mostly expected: struggling to keep up with the two rivals after a disastrous 2018 summer that almost ruined the whole squad. Sporting could at least pick up the pieces and rebuild a squad that is now expected to mount a more serious competition to the top of the table. The squad for the next season shouldn’t have many changes. However, Bruno Fernandes should be leaving and the no. 8 was by far Sporting’s absolute best player last season. Life after Fernandes is expected to be very hard for Leões. Gudelj also left, but former Belenenses midfielder Eduardo Henrique should be a very decent replacement, if not an upgrade. There’s also the prospect of Battaglia returning from a very serious injury. Biggest hopes of improvement will be in attack, as big name Luciano Vietto finally signed with Leões after having been a target in previous seasons. The former Valencia forward will provide an edgier approach near the opponent’s box, something that often missed last season. Mathieu and Coates form a very solid duo at the back and should continue being the team’s most reliable point. Goalkeeper Renan passed the first season test and his ability and stability should only improve from now on. Not having improved the level of quality from last season (quite the opposite, the departure of Bruno Fernandes will mean a step back), Sporting is expected to continue a few steps behind their two rivals in terms of general quality of the squad.