Newcastle United will round off their six day stay in Lisbon with a big clash against Benfica on Tuesday night to play for the Eusebio Cup.
The Magpies have put in another solid shift in terms of training but this trip has differed compared to last week's journey to Austria. In Austria Eddie Howe put his players through their paces twice a day and admitted that they went into games against 1860 Munich and Mainz 05 feeling "fatigued" due to the intense workloads.
However, day to day training has been tapered down and this particular warm weather training camp - Newcastle's fourth of 2022 after previous trips to the Middle East in the winter - has been tailored for match practice. The hard work won't be over after Benfica either with games against Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao also to follow on Friday and Saturday.
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Here's what has emerged from the Toon camp in the last couple of days.
Dan Ashworth starts to roll out his mental strategy at Newcastle United
Ashworth is the man responsible for the upturn in fortunes of the England football team and regarded as somebody who laid the foundations for the Three Lions reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 2018. At United he is eager to instill his own 'Newcastle DNA' and the project is still very much in its infancy.
Ashworth has been around the squad, watched games and taken in training in Lisbon. He has also been fielding enquiries and player availability checks in Portugal.
On Monday he invited sporting performance expert Sir Dave Brailsford to the Magpies' Lisbon base. United stated: "Sir Dave, who masterminded British cycling's huge success across the Olympics and Tour de France in recent years, is regarded as one of the sports industry's most innovative thinkers and has worked with some of the world's greatest athletes and teams."
Ashworth said afterwards: "I've known Sir Dave for a number of years, working across various different sports and he is without doubt the best in world sport at creating high-performance culture and turning that into winning.
"There were some brilliant messages for us all and it was great to get him in at this point of pre-season."
Matty Bondswell gets welcome game-time in Lisbon
The left-sided 20-year-old got something of a raw deal last season when he was sent to Shrewsbury Town on loan then ridiculously overlooked by Steve Cotterill. A loan stint for the former RB Leipzig youngster is probably on the cards again this term.
But again Howe has shown is man management skills by involving the defender on this trip to Portugal as a way of encouragement. Bondswell, a pacy defender who likes to get forward, is a good prospect and by giving him a taste of the action with the first-team, Howe is also pointing the way for the rest of the Under-21s.
Bondswell was in Spain with the reserves only last week but has quickly found himself elevated to the senior squad.
Battle for the gloves remains as tight as ever
Who will start the season in goal for Newcastle United? The £10million arrival of England goalie Nick Pope has genuinely shaken things up in the keeper department. Martin Dubravka was once the clear number 1 and is confident of staying in that position.
But Pope's arrival gives Newcastle an extra option between the sticks. Howe will be tempted to give his new signing his Premier League debut against Nottingham Forest. However, Dubravka's agent has already effectively warned his client won't accept being on the bench, which could see movement in the window few people expected when last season ended.
Were Dubravka to leave - with his agent stating there is Premier League and European interest - Karl Darlow and Pope would do battle for the gloves and Mark Gillespie would continue to increase competition.
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