Yep. As an RTPi subscriber, I know I am one of the very few.
Porto had a very slow start a la Inter, with a lot of draws. They've been infused with a lot of Chelsea cash due to many departures, but a lot of their new talent has been pretty good. Diego has been alright. Quaresma has been among my favorites. Everyone jumped on the Maniche bandwagon after Euro 2004, but he's performing solidly and somewhat anonymously these days. IMO, their defense and coaching have been their biggest declines from last year, however -- since it all packed up for Chelsea. They've been dogged by draws, but they still have to be the odds-on favorite to win it again.
Trap's Benfica has returned to challenging form. They've been spotty when they've really needed to win games, but they've been perhaps more solid than many would expect for a team managed by Trappatoni
. Miguel has been impressive as usual. Manuel Fernandes has been a nice surprise at midfield as a budding young star.
Sporting has been a dark horse all year, but, IMO, they have just as good a chance of surprising everyone with the title. They've been lurking -- hoping that the likes of Benfica and Porto will accidentally forget about them.
As for Boavista, it's good to see their more recent re-entry into the top tier. It's been since their cross-town rivalry with Porto when they both went deep into the UEFA Cup a couple years back. But I don't think they have what it takes to hang in the top 3 by the end of the season. They've been blown out big by Benfica and Sporting and even Braga to an extent earlier this season -- even if they beat out Porto 1-0 in the Porto derby.
Braga has to be the biggest surprise of all. They had a slow start and started to put together a few impressive wins with a team of mostly "no names". They've consistently been able to beat teams in the top tier. But I don't see them holding on in the top two by season's end, however.
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