The popular saying goes that "There is no hunger that cannot be satisfied". And those who love football will say that many derbies are never enough. This is the case of what happened this week in Lisbon. After the electrifying match at the Estádio da Luz last Tuesday, Sporting and Benfica will meet again this Saturday from 8:30 pm with another goal in sight.

After the duel at the Luz that defined Sporting as the first finalist of the Portuguese Cup, the eternal rivals promise to heat up the city of Lisbon with a new encounter that promises to be emotional. Lions and eagles play a decisive card in the fight for the national title, when they face each other at the Estádio José Alvalade, in the derby that monopolizes the 28th round.

The confidence of the green and whites for this match is high. In addition to leading the championship with one more point than the current national champion, the lions have one less game played, with Famalicão.

In addition to these two factors, there is the fact that the leonine team guaranteed qualification for the final of the Portuguese Cup, achieved on Tuesday, with a draw (2-2) at the Estádio da Luz, in the second leg of the semi-finals. A draw that followed after they had won 2-1 on their home ground, in the first leg, played more than a month ago.

On the other side is the team led by Roger Schmidt, who can hold on to the performance they had four days ago (despite the fact that, in the end, they were eliminated from the competition) and to the late victory achieved in the final stretch of the first round derby (2-1).

But an easy mission is not expected for the reigning champions. Sporting will make the most of the fact that they are the only team with a 100% winning record in front of their fans. The incarnates, on the other hand, have shown some weaknesses away from home. They have already lost ten points away from the Luz, the last ones following the defeat in the visit to FC Porto (0-5).

Thus, all the ingredients are in place for what is the second confrontation between the Lisbon rivals in the same week, with the title as a backdrop. Artur Soares Dias is the referee of the match. And whoever goes to watch will certainly need some sedatives.

Coaches in direct speech

Rúben Amorim:

Will you change strategy depending on Benfica's forward? We focus a lot on our team, we know more or less how Benfica will play but there is no difference in what we will do playing a different forward from the one who played. I think Tengstedt played a good game but that is Benfica's decision. It doesn't change the strategy. The main focus is to improve our team.

Importance of beating Benfica: I feel like we are taking an important step. Very important... let's see. We have other games. Very difficult away games, it is always important to win, there is no hiding that we will have a four-point advantage and one more game. Obviously, it makes life more difficult for the opponent. For the mental and physical part, for the points, everything counts at this moment.

Importance of the derby for the accounts: It is not an opinion, it is a fact. This game is not decisive. That was in the Portuguese Cup. It has great importance, there is no hiding it, it is an important moment of the season, which can help the teams a lot. We don't do the math of going to Dragão, playing with Vitória SC at home... All games are difficult and this final stretch, as Estrela da Amadora proved, all games have their importance, it is not decisive but there is no hiding it, it is very important.

Roger Schmidt:

Sixth duel against Sporting since arriving at Benfica: It would have been very good if we had scored first on Tuesday. It is always better to score first in any game and it is always good to turn the game around. Even when they were winning, we managed to draw and that showed that we were strong. Our approach is always to not concede goals. Tomorrow we have to show that this is clearly one of our goals: to play attacking football.

More decisive for Benfica than for Sporting? I think it is equally decisive for both teams. We are in the final stretch of the season and Sporting is in a better position: they have more points, they are in first place and they have a game in arrears. Pressure? We always have pressure and tomorrow will be no different. We have to win in the duels and in the details. This is where we can make a difference and take the three points. We are focused on our goals.

Change strategy? The same eleven? Of course we know our position in the League and as I said we want to win tomorrow. We always want to win, regardless of the stadium where we play. For us it would be great to win tomorrow's game because we want to get closer. The title is still open and we will continue to fight. We know that it is very demanding and for these reasons I know that tomorrow's game is absolutely crucial. The time has come to stay focused. We played a good game and we have to improve some tactical points and we have to improve our efficiency. We could have won Tuesday's game. We have to score goals, besides being better. We have to continue to create and continue on this good path.

Recent results

Sporting: W-L-W-W-D

Benfica: W-W-W-W-D

Recent lineups

Sporting: Franco Israel, Ousmane Diomande, Sebastián Coates, Gonçalo Inácio, Ricardo Esgaio, Daniel Bragança, Morten Hjulmand, Nuno Santos, Francisco Trincão, Viktor Gyökeres, Paulinho.

Benfica: Anatoliy Trubin, Alexander Bah, António Silva, Nicolás Otamendi, Fredrik Aursnes, Florentino Luís, João Neves, Ángel Di María, Rafa Silva, David Neres, Casper Tengstedt.

Absences

Sporting: Adán (injured).

Benfica: Bernat (in doubt).

Leia Também: "Inicialmente a ideia de Di María era ficar apenas uma época no Benfica" (Portuguese version)

Leia Também: Amorim: "Temos de vencer o Benfica, não assino nenhum empate"