Alert! Porto v Sporting could be in doubt | OneFootball

A few hours before Porto vs. Sporting, for the 21st round of the Liga Portugal Betclic, the Estádio do Dragão is shrouded in a thick blanket of fog and persistent rain. The holding of the Clássico may be at risk due to the weather warnings forecasted from Monday night onwards.

If, by 8:45 p.m., conditions are not suitable for the match to start, the league competition regulations state that the game "shall start or be concluded, and will take place or be completed at the same stadium within the following 30 hours." This is unless "both clubs agree to hold or conclude the match on another date, provided the limits referred to in paragraphs 2 to 4 of article 42 are respected and this is recorded in the match report."

This means that the game must be played within the next 30 hours or, "upon request by the participating clubs, Liga Portugal may authorize the postponed match to be played within the following four weeks." For this to happen, it must not be one of the last six rounds (which it is not) and "the Permanent Calendar Committee must give a favorable opinion."

It should also be noted that Civil Protection has issued a yellow rain alert from midnight to 6 a.m. and an orange alert from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. this Tuesday in the Porto district. Similarly, the dense blanket of fog extends across the entire riverside area of the city over a very large area, which, given the forecasted weather, is cause for concern.

It should be remembered that, for now, Sporting - unsettled before the Clássico - is scheduled to play at 8:45 p.m. against the team led by Francesco Farioli at the Estádio do Dragão. The likely green and white lineup consists of: Rui Silva, Iván Fresneda, Ousmane Diomande, Gonçalo Inácio, and Maxi Araújo; Morten Hjulmand and João Simões; Geny Catamo, Francisco Trincão, Pote, and Luis Suárez.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.