Scottish treble-winners Celtic commence a friendly double-header with Portimonense on Wednesday, when they face the Primeira Liga side at Quinta do Lago.
The two sides will lock horns once again on Saturday following their midweek showdown, as the Bhoys ramp up preparations for the post-Ange Postecoglou era.
Match preview
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Since returning to the big time in 2017, Portimonense have consistently managed to keep their heads above water in the Portuguese top flight, and the 2022-23 campaign was no different for Paulo Sergio's charges.
With a total of 34 points from as many games, Portimonense finished with an eight-point lead over second-tier-bound Maritimo in the relegation playoff place, while the hapless Santa Clara and Pacos de Ferreira were cut adrift in the automatic demotion spots.
Sergio's men had a brief Easter revival to thank for their survival, as they gleaned seven points from three fixtures with Rio Ave, Estoril and Gil Vicente at the start of April before failing to win any of their final five top-flight matches, losing each of their last three.
As a result, Portimonense have not been rewarded with any exotic pre-season tours and will remain local for friendlies with Celtic, Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Farense, while also tackling Estrela in their Taca da Liga opener on July 23.
The Alvinegros will then kick off the new Primeira Liga season away to Gil Vicente on August 12 as they endeavour to avoid another relegation dogfight in 2023-24, but with a mere 25 goals scored in the entirety of last season, the omens are not promising.
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Since adding another trio of trophies to their brimming cabinet and bidding farewell to Tottenham Hotspur-bound Postecoglou, Celtic have already taken part in one warm-up fixture as Brendan Rodgers gets re-acclimatised to life back in Glasgow.
The Bhoys reunited with Fraserburgh 53 years on from their most recent meeting - a 1970 charity match to raise funds for those affected by the lifeboat disaster - and a squad comprised of B-team players drew 0-0 with the Highland Football League side before prevailing 5-3 on penalties.
Aiming to replicate the young guns' success, Celtic have jetted off to Portugal for a warm-weather training camp before a brief stopover in Japan - where they lock horns with Yokohama F. Marinos and Gamba Osaka - and Athletic Bilbao will be lying in wait on August 1 at Celtic Park.
In the wake of his inevitable sacking by Leicester City, Rodgers has been blessed with a relatively kind re-baptism at Celtic, who will begin the defence of their Scottish Premiership crown at home to Ross County on August 5.
Celtic have been no strangers to facing Portuguese opposition during their regular European ventures, but Wednesday's clash will mark their inaugural meeting with Portimonense, just three days before the two outfits pit their wits against one another again.
Team News
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Portimonense have dipped into the English transfer market to acquire the services of attacker Sylvester Jasper on a free transfer from Fulham, and the 21-year-old could be in line for his non-competitive debut on Wednesday.
Given their attacking struggles last term, it has hardly come as a surprise to see the Alvinegros prioritise reinforcements in the final third, having also captured South Korea winger Kim Yong-hak and Angelo Taveira from Farense's academy.
Kim should be good to go after helping his nation reach the semi-finals of the Under-20 World Cup last month, but senior South Korea international Park Ji-su and Japan goalkeeper Kosuke Nakamura may need more time to recover from their summer exertions.
Meanwhile, Celtic still have one long-term injury absentee in the shape of Cameron Carter-Vickers, who remains on the road to recovery from knee surgery but will not be considered for any minutes on Wednesday.
Rodgers has bolstered his ranks with the signings of Australian attacker Marco Tilio and Norwegian midfielder Odin Thiago Holm, but Jota has completed a big-money move to Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, while goalkeeper Vasilios Barkas is now a free agent and Aaron Mooy has hung up his boots.
A pair of loanees from last season - Mikey Johnston and Liam Scales - have both made the trip to Portugal, where a host of fringe and up-and-coming players will seek to get into Rodgers's good books.
Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Silvestre; Moufi, Relvas, Pedrao, Lucas, Seck; Ventura, Estrela; Carlinhos; Rochez, Paulinho
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Johnston, Starfelt, Welsh, Taylor; Holm, McGregor, Hatate; Abada, Furuhashi, Maeda
We say: Portimonense 0-3 Celtic
There will be no overnight fix for Portimonense's attacking struggles, and the Alvinegros ought to be in for a rough ride against a Celtic side potentially still flaunting their attacking principles from Postecoglou's reign.
While Rodgers will no doubt make changes in abundance throughout the contest, the Scottish treble-winners should see out a straightforward win ahead of Saturday's reunion.
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Ben Knapton
