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Sérgio Conceição did the preview of the classic against Sporting at Estádio de Alvalade (saturday, 15h30)

This Friday, Sérgio Conceição did the preview of the classic against Sporting, the last match of the first turn of the 2018/19 League. FC Porto will be starting matchday 17 in the lead of the competition, eight points ahead of the team from Lisbon. The match will be played at Estádio de Alvalade, starting at 15h30, this Saturday. The coach of the national champions stated his team is prepared to do a good job, get the “three important points” and extend the historic cycle of victories.

Expectations for the match in Alvalade
“I hope to live these emotions the same way as I have been living them. This is a match against a rival that is fighting for the same objectives as we are. We will do our job to get the three important points in our path.”

Pepe available for the classic
“I felt Pepe was well, eager to help, with a motivation I knew already. He is a competitive player, serious and professional. I’m pleased to work with a player with this history, who is also a great person. Everyone is available, except for Otávio and Aboubakar.”

A reinforcement who wants to compete
“What I said not so long ago is that the financial power of our teams doesn’t allow us to get players that can go straight to the main team. That doesn’t mean that, after working well, they won’t take a spot in the starting team. As for Pepe, it was a little different, even for the emotional part. Pepe already knew the club, he is close to people that work at FC Porto, and for his family it was also important for him to return. But he is not coming here to end his career. On the first day, when he got here, he told me: ‘Coach, I want to compete’. That’s fantastic, this determination is important and interesting.”

Sporting has more responsibility to win?
“FC Porto’s responsibility is always to win, to get the three points, and I assume it will be the same for Sporting. People look at the difference in the table before the match, but that difference is gone after the referee starts the match. Each match has its own story and we want this one to be favourable to us. For that to happen, we have to start the match on top, to get the three points against a difficult opponent. Our responsibility is exactly the same as we had in the last match, meaning, getting the three points.”

Concerning the work of Marcel Keiser
“I greatly respect José Peseiro and all the work he did. The setting of the time wasn’t easy for Sporting’s coach. With the new chairman and the new coach, Sporting gained some tranquillity. It’s natural that there are changes in the team’s dynamics, but I think his path as a coach is positive, knowing that the Portuguese championship is competitive, not easy, regardless of the coaching schools that come here. It’s always good to have coaches such as Marcel Keiser, who add something to Portuguese football, but I enjoyed seeing so many Portuguese coaches around me, with so much quality, in the meeting we had this week at the Federation. The Portuguese coach is creative, intelligent and tactically strong. Anyway, It’s always good when we have people coming here and bringing something positive to Portuguese football.”

Playing at 15h30 is positive for the fans
“I have to congratulate whoever came up with this schedule, as it’s good for football. I’m sure there will be a lot of people taking the kids and family to football. This schedule is good for the show. Our match against Rio Ave was played at this time, and Estádio do Dragão was full. This was discussed by us in this meeting we had in the Federation. I prefer to have a stadium full of people, families, kids, as it’s extremely motivating to the players. Football has to promote this type of matches at these times.”

The importance of Bruno Fernandes in Sporting
“He is an important player to Sporting, a player with quality and, keeping that in mind, along with others in the midfield, we will have to keep an eye on what he wants to do, on the spaces he takes. He is an important player in Sporting’s dynamic.”

About the recent history in Alvalade
“It’s a coincidence. Sporting has been playing great, especially at home, against FC Porto and they haven’t lost at home since May, 2017, against Belenenses. As for the matches against FC Porto, I honestly think it’s a coincidence. I read that I never won in Alvalade, but that doesn’t mean much to me.”

Advantage in the lead
“We work every day to win the next match. We don’t live in the future, we live in the now, in the moment, in what conditions our next match. We don’t really look three or four months ahead, as team go through different cycles. After this match, there will be 51 more points to fight for. There is a lot to play for, many matches ahead, and we aren’t excited with this lead. It’s normal, a team like FC Porto has to be in the lead. FC Porto is used to being in the lead in domestic competitions. I think this is an important match for the rival, as they might be 11 points behind if they lose, but, from our part, it’s also important to win, to increase the distance to a rival. We need to worry about what we do, we aren’t focused on other teams. In the end, we will look at the numbers.”

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