National growth: “We look like a competitive team”

“IT IS an academic Viseu strong, with good individualities and that has a well-oriented collective. So we expect natural difficulties from an I League game, but of course we also have our arguments. [...] In these last two games we looked like a competitive team and it is that team that will be inside the field to face a difficult opponent ", said João Henriques, in press conference.

Despite the defeat in the last round, in front of the 53-year-old Arouca (1-0), Henriques saw his team granting “little goal opportunities to the opponent”, and the priority now goes to “improve offensive aspects”, as well as the “criteria and last pass”.

The predictions point to a day of heavy rain and strong wind on Saturday, something that can “transform a little the essence of the two teams”, namely the Academic of Viseu, which “has an associative game” and likes to “have the ball on the ground”.

For João Henriques, “players will have to adapt quickly” to weather conditions, which will be the same for both sets.

“ As long as the game takes place, the ball can roll and there are these basic conditions for a football game of the I League, the teams have to adapt”, he noted.

Ulysses Rocha, Wesley Gasolina, Igor Liziero and Filipe Soares continue to recover from their injuries and are confirmed absences for this match, according to the technician.

A different situation is that of Léo Santos, who contracted a serious injury before Sporting, estimating that he would stay out of the options until the end of the season.

The National, 15th ranked, with seven points, receives on Saturday the Academic of Viseu, sixth, with 20, in a match scheduled for 15:30, in the Stadium of Madeira, Funchal, under arbitration of Pedro Ramalho, the association of Évora.