Although Lage needed to stabilise the club after returning in September when Roger Schmidt was dismissed, unexpected events at Sporting have opened the door for Benfica and Porto to compete for the Liga title.

Ruben Amorim's departure to Manchester United has caused a dip in results at Jose Alvalade, highlighted by four consecutive losses in all competitions (two in the league) under Joao Pereira.

While Sporting avoided a third successive league defeat by beating Boavista 3-2 in round 14, Lage's Benfica have cut the Lions' advantage to one point, positioning the Reds to leapfrog the club in first place after the 15th gameweek.

That outcome is contingent on the first-placed club dropping points on Sunday's visit to Gil Vicente, a situation O Glorioso hope for ahead of Monday's match with Estoril.

Benfiquistas have reason to be confident in their side's prospects if Sporting drop points, owing to the second-placed club's undefeated run since losing 2-0 at Famalicao and the Reds' unblemished run on home soil all season.

Those prospects are strengthened when previous results in this fixture are considered, a statistic that means Ian Cathro's men enter the forthcoming fixture as the underdogs.

Although Estoril defeated their Lisbon rivals on penalties in January's League Cup, the Canaries have never beaten their district rivals anywhere else on record since the 1990s, underlining the uphill task facing the away side.

Thirty-two matches have been played in the period from 1991, with Estorilistas losing 25 and holding the Reds to six draws.

If that historical precedent diminishes the away club's chances, Estoril's inability to win away in the Liga since November 2023 doubly limits their prospects.

While that sole triumph came at Porto (1-0), results since have highlighted the Canaries' away blues, thus underscoring their unfancied tag heading into Monday's trip to the Stadium of Light.

With Cathro's men only three points clear of Boavista (11 points) in the relegation play-off spots, Canarinhos face a nervy gameweek 15 if the third-bottom side beat AVS on Saturday.

While Gianluca Prestianni has recently returned from an ankle injury, Lage could be without Renato Sanches (muscle) and Tiago Gouveia (shoulder) when Estoril visit.

Thursday's two-goal hero against Nacional, Angel Di Maria, will be assessed, even if his late withdrawal in the 2-0 success seemed precautionary.

Only Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres and Santa Clara's Vinicius Lopes have netted more match-winning goals (four) than Vangelis Pavlidis and Kerem Akturkoglu (three), and the Benfica pair could be decisive for the Reds again.

Pedro Amaral and Xeka have missed a combined 12 games because of injury, and the Estoril pair are expected to sit out round 15's Estadio da Luz trip.

Despite their underdog status, the Canaries will look to Alejandro Marques (five goals), Joao Carvalho and Wagner Pina to secure an unexpected victory, as the trio have scored a combined nine goals this term.

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Trubin; Bah, Araujo, Otamendi, Carreras; Aursnes, Luis; Di Maria, Kokcu, Akturkoglu; Pavlidis

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:

Robles; Boma, Alvaro, Bacher; Pina, Zanocelo, Holsgrove, Garcia; Costa, Carvalho; Marques