March 7, 2008 5:30 PM

SOURCE:
goal.com

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BWIN Liga Preview: Round 22

The opening match of round 22 will be a clash between two sides that are in the upper side of the table.

Vitoria de Setúbal are doing well enough in the league, and could take advantage of the match between Sporting and V. Guimarães to secure the third place. Nonetheless, coach Carlos Carvalhal's speech has been a cautious one, as he insists that it is too soon to say that Setúbal will have spot in UEFA.

Marítimo are current seventh-placed in the table, but with be looking for all the three points as they are more than apt to battle for European qualification.

Estrela da Amadora - Paços de Ferreira

Estrela da Amadora come into week 22 on the back of an away draw with Marítimo, a precious point in their hard battle to avoid relegation.

Estrela's players have not been receiving their salaries and have already stated that a decision will be announced after this game.

Paços de Ferreira have been in dreadful form this season and are sitting in second-to-last place. Paços were last seen in a defeat to Belenenses, but despite such result, coach José Mota assured that if their players keep showing the same attitude, his team will avoid relegation.

Nacional - Sporting de Braga

Sporting de Braga travel to Choupana knowing that they will play against an opponent known for being very strong in their own stadium.

With Austrian striker Roland Linz in such good form, being the league's second-best scorer, Braga will have all they need to get the three points they are in dire need of to still dream about a spot in the UEFA Cup.

Nacional have been far away from their best form but are now back on their own stadium after a draw at Naval and will be eager to give Braga a one-way ticket to the continent.

Naval - Leixões

Naval welcome Leixões in a match between two sides that are in an intense battle to avoid relegation.

Naval will step in the pitch with several changes in the team, compared to the line-up that shared points with Nacional last week, mostly because of suspension.

Leixões were last seen in a home draw with Académica and come to round 22 with only the three points in mind, as a defeat will make them drop to the relegation zone.

Benfica - União de Leiria

Benfica could not have wished for a worse start against Getafe, after seeing striker Óscar Cardozo being sent off shortly after the match began.

As Águias will now be looking to erase the memory of such result against bottom-placed União de Leiria, who have been far away from last seasons' campaigns, having won only one match this season.

União de Leiria have a very hard travel this week, but with the team in desperate need of points, they will be more than ready to risk everything for an upset.

Futebol Clube do Porto - Académica

Académica have already stated that they believe Porto's elimination from the Champions League will not weaken them this weekend - quite the contrary.

Despite being in first place with a twelve-point difference to Benfica, Porto will not rest against Académica, as they seem set to secure the title as soon as possible.

Porto will be missing full back Bosingwa, who is recovering from injury, but Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira will be happy to know that Quaresma is fully ready for this important game.

The current league champions have only seen their opponents score once in home games, another reason why Académica should pose little threat to Porto.

Vitória de Guimarães - Sporting Clube de Portugal

Sporting looked in good form in the UEFA cup match against Bolton, securing a precious away 1-1 draw which put the Portuguese team one step closer to the quarter-finals.

But Sporting's attention will now be turned to the Bwin Liga, where they are in the fifth spot, but only one point behind third-placed Guimarães.

Guimarães look quite ambitious this season after experiencing the bitter taste of relegation some years ago, and pressure will be on Sporting's side, as they are keen on leaving their poor place in the table.

Belenenses - Boavista

FIFA's punishment for irregular use of Cameroonian Meyong did not seem to affect Belenenses in their game against Paços de Ferreira, as they came out on top of the game to dedicate the three points to deceased chairman Cabral Ferreira.

Belenenses are now sixth-placed, and with Guimarães welcoming Sporting, they have good chances of climbing some places in the table.

Boavista seem to be finally recovering from their sluggish form, after a dreadful start to their league campaign. Although an European spot may be impossible for Boavista, Jaime Pacheco's side is always one that plays hard for the three points.