By Reading FC

Behind closed doors action against Primeira Liga side on Tuesday...

The first team squad are out in Portugal, training under the guidance of their new manager Veljko Paunovic, and on Tuesday night the Royals boss will get his first glimpse of his players in action when he watches them take on Primeira Liga side Portimonense SC.

The friendly game, which is due to kick off at 6pm on Tuesday evening at Estádio Municipal in Portimão, is taking place behind closed doors to fans - just four days before our first competitive action on home soil...a Carabao Cup clash against Colchester United this weekend.

This is no normal pre-season trip of course, more an early opportunity for the new manager to privately meet his players and begin to get across his ideas to the first team squad in advance of the season starting.

So while there won't be the normal blanket coverage from training sessions nor kick-by-kick updates from the game on Tuesday night, we will aim to bring you the details from the match on the Portuguese coast.

But what do we know about our final pre-season opposition of the late summer? Here are five things you probably don't know about Portimonense SC...

  • Portimonense finished in 17th place in an 18-team Primeira Liga last season and were relegated on the final day of the season - but they were rescued from relegation when top flight status was restored due to irregularities surrounding Vitória de Setubal's registration.

  • Managed by Paulo Sergio, our opponents are gearing up to begin their season on 20th September when they open their campaign against Paços de Ferreira.

  • In 1985-86, Portimonense qualified for the Uefa Cup but bowed out of the competition at the first hurdle, despite beating the Partizan Belgrade 1-0 in the first leg. They leaked four goals in the return fixture in Belgrade. In their success in the 1980s, they also reached the semi-finals of the Taça de Portugal on three separate occasions.

    PA-16561156.jpg

  • Amongst their playing squad last season was one familiar name for English football fans - former Bolton, Hull City, Barnsley, West Ham and Charlton striker Ricardo Vaz Tê signed for Portimonense in 2019.

  • Located in Algarve's second largest city, Portimão, its stadium normally has a capacity of 9,500.

Of course, when Veljko Paunovic arrives on UK soil, we will bring you interviews and insight from the new manager at our very earliest opportunity.