The Primeira Liga kicks off on Friday evening as champions Sporting host Rio Ave at Alvalade.
While much of the preseason talk has focused on the Big Three and the fight for the title, plenty of fascinating storylines and eye-catching off-season transfer activity among the rest of the 15 teams in Portugal’s top flight has whetted the appetite ahead of the big kick-off.
Albert and Barney Carter-Phillips (@LongBallFutebol) pick out four teams, Rio Ave, Estoril, Nacional and Estrela da Amadora, whose summer incomings have raised eyebrows among the Portuguese football community.
Eight years after leaving Benfica as a teenager, Renato Sanches has officially rejoined the Portuguese club on a season-long loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
Sporting 3-4 FC Porto
Vitória 4-0 Floriana (Aggregate: 5-0)
Braga breezed into the Europa League third qualifying round after thrashing Maccabi Petah Tikva 5-0 in Bulgaria.