The main event of the 2022/23 Primeira Liga season’s opening weekend came on August 7 in Braga. Despite taking the lead on three separate occasions, despite a stellar display in midfield from Matheus Nunes, Sporting fell to a 3-3 draw with substitutes Álvaro Djaló and Abel Ruíz combining for the final equalizer in the 88th minute, a mere three minutes after coming on. Matheus Nunes was sold to Wolves just 10 days later, the latest key player to leave the Estádio José Alvalade after Nuno Mendes, Pablo Sarabia and João Palhinha. Fast forward nearly six months, and another departure looms on the horizon: star right back Pedro Porro is set to join Tottenham Hotspur for €45 million.

Sporting sit fourth in the table, seven points behind Porto, eight behind Braga, and 15 adrift crosstown rivals Benfica. Like Braga, they have been relegated to a lower European tournament after an unsuccessful group stage, with the Lions set to take on FC Midtjylland in the Europa League – but whilst Braga will face off against Benfica in the Taça de Portugal quarterfinals, Sporting fell to lower-tier Varzim in October to exit the competition. They are set to lose one of their most important players to Spurs, and they have seen their best chance of winning silverware this season go down the drain, having lost 2-0 to Porto in the Taça da Liga Final in a match that would see ex-Braga center forward Paulinho receive his marching orders.

There is a sense that this season is a lost cause for Sporting, but as for Braga, this is shaping up to be a historic campaign. They are chasing Champions League qualification for the third time and the first time in 11 years, and maybe, just maybe, they could be chasing their first-ever league title. Beating Sporting would see them move within four points of Benfica, and I’m expecting them to take care of business. Braga have won every single league match since October 10 with the sole exception of a 1-0 loss to Casa Pia on November 6, having ended Benfica’s unbeaten streak with a 3-0 victory on December 30. This is an unprecedented run of form for the bridesmaids of Portuguese football, a team that has been written off as a perennial fourth-place finisher and Europa League side, and I’m expecting that run to continue.