After a hard-fought 4-3 win over Casa Pia in the previous round, the bracarenses enter the last two rounds still fighting for the last place on the podium with FC Porto (who they will host in the final round), but with the fourth place still not guaranteed and with Vitória de Guimarães, Saturday's rivals, on the lookout.

"It's a game for men, in which we have to be united, with a very strong team and group spirit. Vitória is an excellent team, well-coached and playing an excellent championship. But we have our ideas and we are convinced that we will fight to win, with all our energy", noted the coach, recalling that Sporting de Braga has not won in Guimarães for two seasons "and that is not normal".

The team conceded goals again -- three -- in the last round, but the coach preferred to look at the fact that, once again, they managed to turn the result around, and assured the belief that "it is possible to reach third place".

Rui Duarte does not even want to consider the possibility of losing -- "losing here is very costly" -- a Minho derby that "has an incredible impact" on the region.

"We want to show that we want to be up there and not looking down, but with all humility, working hard during the game. There are players here with incredible careers, internationals, who continue to be very 'hungry', that is the way to go", he said.

Sent off against the casapianos, Rui Duarte was suspended for one game, and admitted that he would like to be on the 'arsenal' bench, "because I wanted to be there to experience it", but guaranteed that "the team will not be shaken by this".

"Wherever I am, the information will arrive. The coaching staff is imbued with a spirit of sharing, everyone knows what to do and is competent, we are convinced that the game will not go wrong because of that. We want to continue to feed the dream of third place", he reinforced.

The coach believes that the team is playing more and more in his image and that there is "a healthy atmosphere of a team that wants to win, full of talent and quality, but which knows that it has to work hard to achieve its goals".

The coach mentioned in previous press conferences that, in addition to the collective goals, there were also players with individual goals, such as Banza, the team's top scorer, but the Congolese striker has 'eclipsed' himself in recent rounds, having been 'blank' for five games and having been substituted at half-time against the 'gansos'.

"I am not worried if Banza scores, it could even be Matheus [goalkeeper]. I just want the team to win. What is happening to him? Nothing is happening, these are phases that players go through, some more positive and others less so. The team has already played 51 games, almost 11 months of the season. Maybe he stopped having one or two situations in training that were more conducive to him, which I don't know about. But those who come in have added something and that is very positive", he said, not wanting to reveal whether Abel Ruiz, who scored twice against Casa Pia, will start instead of Banza.

Paulo Oliveira and Álvaro Djaló are certain absentees for Guimarães, due to suspension, but right-back Victor Gómez returns after serving a one-game disciplinary penalty.

Sporting de Braga, fourth in the table with 65 points, and Vitória de Guimarães, fifth with 60 points, will face each other at 8:30 pm on Saturday at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimarães, in a game that will be refereed by Fábio Veríssimo from the Leiria Football Association.

Leia Também: Vitória SC e a luta pelo quarto lugar com Sp. Braga: "Há dois objetivos" (Portuguese version)