Another Primeira Liga round is upon us! Matchweek 4 in the Portuguese top-flight is set to kick off on Friday, with fans of this tournament gearing up for another list of nine interesting fixtures.
Only one match is scheduled for Friday and that is Estoril Praia's trip to Pacos Ferreira, with the remaining eight games taking place throughout the weekend and even on Monday. Benfica and Sporting CP will take to the field this Saturday while fans of defending champions Porto will have to wait until Sunday for them to resume their title defense.
Who will enjoy this round and who will drop points? Here's everything you need to know about Matchweek 4 in the Primeira Liga.
Primeira Liga standings after Matchweek 4
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting CP | 31 | 26 | 3 | 2 | 89 | 29 | +60 | 81 | DWWWW | |
| 2 | Benfica | 31 | 24 | 4 | 3 | 71 | 25 | +46 | 76 | WWWLW | |
| 3 | Porto | 31 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 57 | 26 | +31 | 63 | DWDLL | |
| 4 | Sporting Braga | 31 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 64 | 44 | +20 | 62 | LWWLW | |
| 5 | Vitória Guimarães | 31 | 18 | 6 | 7 | 46 | 32 | +14 | 60 | WLDWW | |
| 6 | Moreirense | 31 | 13 | 7 | 11 | 32 | 34 | -2 | 46 | WLLDL | |
| 7 | Arouca | 31 | 13 | 6 | 12 | 53 | 42 | +11 | 45 | DDWWW | |
| 8 | Famalicão | 31 | 8 | 12 | 11 | 33 | 39 | -6 | 36 | LDLDW | |
| 9 | Casa Pia | 31 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 33 | 44 | -11 | 35 | WLDDW | |
| 10 | Estoril | 31 | 9 | 6 | 16 | 46 | 52 | -6 | 33 | WDLDW | |
| 11 | Rio Ave | 31 | 5 | 17 | 9 | 33 | 39 | -6 | 32 | DDDWD | |
| 12 | Gil Vicente | 31 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 39 | 50 | -11 | 32 | DWLLL | |
| 13 | Farense | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 39 | 44 | -5 | 31 | LDWLD | |
| 14 | Boavista | 31 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 57 | -22 | 30 | LDLLD | |
| 15 | Estrela | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 32 | 46 | -14 | 29 | DDDLD | |
| 16 | Portimonense | 31 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 34 | 66 | -32 | 28 | LDDWL | |
| 17 | Chaves | 31 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 31 | 65 | -34 | 23 | LDWLL | |
| 18 | Vizela | 31 | 4 | 10 | 17 | 30 | 63 | -33 | 22 | DLLLL |
Primeira Liga: Top matches to watch in Matchweek 4
Boavista vs Benfica
Of Portugal's top three teams, the Eagles will be called to action first, as Roger Schmidt's side prepare to visit Estádio do Bessa this Saturday. Benfica enter this clash on the back of their recent UEFA Champions League playoffs success, beating Dynamo Kyiv 3-0 on Tuesday – 5-0 on aggregate – to secure their ticket to this season's group stage. However, the focus must now shift back to the Primeira Liga, where they trail early league leaders Porto by three points, having played one game less than the Dragons.
As for the hosts, they are level on points with the visitors, sitting in sixth with six points. However, Boavista have played three games compared to Benfica's two, having lost their recent trip to Casa Pia after kicking off the season with back-to-back wins over Portimonense and Santa Clara. Will As Panteras return to winning ways this weekend? Tune in to find out.
Sporting CP vs Chaves
From one Lisbon giant to another, Sporting CP will take to the field on the same day as Benfica, but a few hours later. Currently, the Lions are 10th in the Primeira Liga, but with the season being so early, their position matters not. However, their form hasn't been spectacular, with Rúben Amorim's men having won only one of their opening three outings. They beat Rio Ave 3-0 roughly two weeks ago but kicked off the season with a 3-3 draw away to Sporting Braga before losing 3-0 against Porto in their most recent outing.
Chaves, meanwhile, boast the same points tally as Sporting CP heading into this tie, with four points under their belt after three games (W1, D1, L1). The newly-promoted side began 2022/23 with a 1-0 loss at home to Vitoria but have since bounced back, beating Maritimo 2-1 in round 2 before drawing 1-1 with Vizela last weekend. Do not miss their clash with the Lions.
Rio Ave vs Porto
Porto's title defense has gotten off to a great start, with the Dragons being the only other team besides Benfica to boast a perfect start. With three wins out of three, Sérgio Conceição's men have already marched into an early lead – albeit a temporary one over the Eagles. Additionally, Porto have conceded only once so far, with that sole goal coming in their opening day 5-1 victory over Maritimo. Since then, Taremi and Co. netted an additional four goals – 10 in total so far this campaign – and have not conceded, registering clean sheets in the 1-0 victory over Vizela and 3-0 triumph over Sporting CP.
Rio Ave, meanwhile, haven't enjoyed their start to the campaign. The hosts are yet to win a game so far, drawing once and losing twice in their opening three fixtures. As a result, with only one point to their name so far, Rio Grande already find themselves dangerously close to the danger zone. The newly-promoted side will want to put as much distance between themselves and the relegation zone, and victory over the defending champions could do just the trick. Unfortunately for the home side, that's easier said than done.
Primeira Liga - Who's out of Matchweek 4?
Benfica: Joao Victor and Lucas Veríssimo (injured); Nicolas Otamendi (suspended)
Porto: Marko Grujic (injured)
Sporting CP: Daniel Bragança (injured)
