Alvalade president offers his most sincere condolences for Marco Ficini's family and friends

Depois de o Sporting Clube de Portugal has issued a statement following the tragic events last night which resulted in the death of one of our club's fans. President Bruno de Carvalho has publicly presented his most sincere condolences for the family and friends of Marco Ficini.

These events are extremely saddening, on a day which should be focused on the good spirited party that is the Lisbon derby. The Alvalade leader has appealed to all Sporting CP fans to show "behaviour worthy of the  Sporting CP".

Bruno de Carvalho's message in full:

Club statement following the tragic events on Friday night

Sporting Clube de Portugal manifests the most profound sorrow and repudiation for the tragic events last night, resulting in the death of one of our club's fans.

Sporting CP is monitoring the inquiry being undertaken by the authorities, with the objective of identifying those responsible.

Sporting CP manifests its most sincere condolences to the fan's family and friends.

Bruno Paz, Pedro Marques and Pedro Ferreira feature in squd of 23

The national under-19 coach Hélio Sousa has included three Sporting CP youngsters in his squad for a training camp, running from the 24th to the 26th of April.

Bruno Paz, Pedro Marques and Pedro Ferreira are the trio.

Jorge Jesus looking for quality from Saturday's Lisbon derby

Jorge Jesus was in the Alvalade press room this Friday for a much awaited meeting with journalists ahead of the weekend's Lisbon derby.

This will be the 300th meeting between the two giants from the Portuguese capital and Jesus did not play down the occasion, despite the title race being largely out of Sporting CP's hands: "Winning won't save anything, because this club lives on titles. We are on the road to recovery, after the brilliant season we had [in 2015/2016]. We are not fighting for the title right now, but we are building a structure that can fight against our rivals. The result won't have a direct impact on the league standings, but we still want to play some good football and get the win. This fixture is always a passionate one, it is completely different from every other match. A Sporting CP-SL Benfica is always a brilliant spectacle and we want to be the best team out there."

The Alvalade coach touched on the absence of Marvin Zeegelaar, but left his actual squad list to matchday to announce: "Based on various factors, I wouldn't say that we have to change a lot of things to surprise Benfica. I know a lot about every team and we know about the characteristics of the players. I think coaches are a lot more important during the match than before it. Jefferson, Esgaio and Bruno César all have a chance of coming in and what I do not want to do is limit us in attack. I am not worried in terms of who is better in defence."

Sporting CP will host SL Benfica in Alvalade on Saturday, at 20h30.

Clinical Information regarding Carlos Mané

The player Carlos Mané has undergone a procudure for an osteochondral injury.

The procudure was performed at Hospital CUF Descobertas by Dr. Pedro Pessoa and want completed as planned.

The player is expected to be out of action for four to six months.

Alvalade completely sold out for the Lisbon derby

Estádio José Alvalade will host the Lisbon derby this weekend, with a sold out crowd guaranteed to add to the occasion.

Considering that the match is considered as high risk, Sporting CP has issued the following recommendations:

. gates will open at 18h30 (two hours before kick-off)
. we recommend that fans enter as earlier as possible in order to avoid excessive waiting times
. it is advisable to use public transport to reach the stadium
. children under the age of three are prohibited 
. all fans must have a valid ticket
. Sporting CP members mus have March 2017 fees paid up to date

Sporting CP fans entering through Gate 1 (NOS) can use alternatives, particularly when this area is controlled by the police on arrival of the visiting supporters. Fans with tickets for A1/A3/A5 and B1/B3/B5 can use Gate 4 and fans with tickets for A13/A15 and B15/B17 can use Gate 2.

Luís Martins' fantastic run finally brought to a close by Penafiel

Luís Martins' Sporting CP B tasted defeat for the first time this Wednesday, in a visit to Penafiel that saw three goals in the first-half and two shots against the post.

It was a fantastic series of 10 matches unbeaten for Martins' charges, who actually led after just 7 minutes when Gelson Dala set up Leonardo Ruiz. The hosts responded well and levelled through Djibril Zidnaba 16 minutes later, before Gonçalo Abreu put the hosts ahead from the penalty spot just before the break.

The pace slowed for the first half an hour after the break, before Sporting CP B pushed on in the last 15 minutes. On three occasions Martins' side came close to equalising, two of which were denied by the woodwork.

Luís Martins highlights his side's maturity against União da Madeira

The Sporting CP B coach Luís Martins praised his side's maturity at the final whistle this weekend, after masterminding a ninth successive unbeaten outing.

"We set out with a specific idea that we had been working on and we won. It was our hardest match so far I think. Our opponent had done their homework and you could see that. We have our weaknesses, but we were competent out their today and showed a real maturity", said Martins, continuing with a word on the importance of securing points against the Ledman LigaPro big-hitters: "We had already beaten the team in second and now we beat União da Madeira. These matches are really important to help the lads grow. We were disciplines, coherent and deserve a pat on the back."

Rafael Barbosa was also on hand to share his thoughts at the final whistle, commenting on his goal: "It was an important goal because it helped get the points. We drew in the Azores (Santa Clara), which wasn't a fair result, so it was important for us to get a decent win today."

Yet another win for Luís Martins' charges continues Ledman LigaPro recovery

Another Ledman LigaPro fixture and another win for Luís Martins' team, this time with União da Madeira the victims in a 2-0 win for the hosts. It was a curious afternoon of football, with Sporting CP B happy to give up the midfield and instead hit on the break through Rafael Barbosa and Matheus Pereira.

Both sides started out in a traditional 4x4x2, but União da Madeira did set Cedric to one side in a dedicated role pestering Gauld and Francisco Geraldes in midfield.

On three minutes Pedro Silva was called into action in the Sporting CP B goal, but he comfortably dealt with what ultimately was a weak header. A couple of seconds later Matheus Pereira broke away for the first time, but Rafael Barbosa was unable to make the most of the final execution.

On 25 minutes Rafael Barbosa did hit the back of the net, after Escobar and Ivanildo stamped out a move forward from U. Madeira and picked out André Geraldes for a move forward that was finished off by Barbosa.

From then on União da Madeira showed why they are pushing for one of the Ledman LigaPro top spots with a well drilled dominance of the midfield. However two chances followed for Sporting CP B, first with Ruiz dribbling past the defence and blasting over the bar, before Dala drove a shot at Nilson's body.

Pedro Silva had a much busier second-half, created mostly through Breitner's skillful touches that kept Geraldes and Gauld bogged down in the midfield. Although surrendering the middle of the park, Sporting CP B were deadly on the quick break and Matheus secured the final score after a pass from Dala in a move initially started by Francisco Geraldes.

Gelson Martins, William Carvalho and Bas Dost secure three points in Setúbal

Vitória de Setúbal have held their own against Portugal's big boys so far this season, having held out against SL Benfica and FC Porto. This time the challenge came in the form of a inspired Sporting CP and Jorge Jesus' side didn't disappoint, with Gelson Martins, William Carvalho and Bas Dost all finding the back of the net in a 3-0 win to secure a fifth straight win with the Lisbon derby just around the corner.

Despite the expressive final result, the team from Alvalade were made to work hard in the opening stages, with Sétubal looking to shower the pressure particularly on Marvin down the flank. The full back held firm, but was unable to avoid a yellow card (31') that will keep him out of next week's hosting of Benfica.

The opening exchanges out the way, Sporting CP began to take control. First to shake the hosts was Bruno César with a cross into the hard of the area, which was somehow scrambled away after a moment of hesitation from Fábio Cardoso. The warning shot had been fired and Gelson Martins went one better in the 20th minute, opening the scoring with his 10th consecutive goal in as many matches. Three minutes later Sporting CP's number 77 was brought crashing down in the area, but the referee waved away the penalty appeals. The rest of the half continued with Gelson and Bruno César leading the attacking aspirations down the wings, but the scoreboard remained locked at 1-0 come the half-time break.

While Setúbal would have been expected to come out swinging for the second-half, it was actually Jorge Jesus' side who pushed up the pitch. The Alvalade boss had obviously had words at the break and a more dynamic looking midfield had the hosts struggling. It was William Carvalho who struck his side's second, although it was actually from a corner, with the Portuguese international heading in from a Bruno César corner.

Six minutes later Alan Ruiz decided it was time to attract the limelight, with a superbly skillful pass that Bas Dost converted with what was his 28th goal in 26 outings. Amazing figures for the Dutchman, who alone has scored more goals than half of the teams in the top flight: Boavista (27), V. Setúbal (27), Paços de Ferreira (26), Arouca (26), Feirense (25), Estoril (25), Moreirense (24), Belenenses (22), Nacional (19) and Tondela (19).