Meneses deployed his army in a defensive formation adjacent to and at the southern end of a long ridge. A dense forest and hills lay further to the south of the Portuguese positions. By defending the space between these two terrain features, Meneses planned to limit the number of Portuguese and Spanish soldiers fighting at any one time and as such counter the superior Spanish numbers. He positioned his heaviest infantry, composed of seasoned veterans, foreign volunteers, and mercenaries under the command of Frederic Schomberg in two lines in this gap and positioned his artillery to support them. The rest of the Portuguese army was held in a third, reserve line and ordered to prevent the Spanish from scaling the ridge line. Carrillo was well aware of the Portuguese defenses and massed his cavalry and artillery for an all out attack on the gap between the ridge and the forest.