FC Porto begin the defence of their 13th championship on the road, and the awkward part is already obvious. Three months after ending Benfica's run of four titles, they start the 95th Betclic League season away from Dragão Arena because the venue does not meet the minimum 3,000-seat requirement.
It has been ten seasons since Porto last opened a championship as defending champions. They finished last season on 88 points, which is a strong enough mark on its own, but the more immediate detail is where they will be playing their home games, in the Pavilhão de Matosinhos rather than their usual arena.
Benfica and Sporting are there from the start
The title race does not give Porto much breathing room. Benfica sit second with 16 points from 7 league matches, while Sporting CP are third on 15 from 7.
The league opener sets that tone quickly. Porto visit Queluz on Friday at 21:15, and Benfica face Sporting in the derby at the Luz the following day at 17:00. The play-off final is still a best-of-five series, with Game 1 scheduled for 1 June.
A packed run before October is over
Porto also have Europe back on the calendar straight away. Their next Champions League match is away at Real Betis on 14 October, before they return home in Europe against PSV Eindhoven on 20 October.
They reached this point after beating Sporting 80-76 in the Super Cup last week, so the mood around the champions is not fragile. But the season is opening with a venue problem and an immediate set of big fixtures, and those two things are going to stay in view when the league reaches the second phase on 8 May and the regular phase ends on 24 April.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
