The Kawasaki rider finished in seventh position in the previous race in Jerez, leaving him upbeat of making more progress after a difficult start to the season in Qatar.
"I'm feeling really positive for the weekend. I like Estoril," said Hopkins in a team preview. "The tight corners require a lot of heavy braking, which should really suit my riding style as well as suiting the Kawasaki machine.
"It's good because nobody's had much testing time there, so it's kind of an even field, and I enjoy the atmosphere there too.
"I felt a lot better after Jerez than I did after Qatar. We got a positive result and made some good improvements to the bike so hopefully we can utilise those in Portugal. So, I'm excited about going there and I'm really looking forward to the race."
Teammate Anthony West admitted he is feeling more positive about his performances after scoring points in Jerez thanks to a 13th place.
"I'm feeling a bit more upbeat now," he said. "My result at Jerez, and my feeling on the bike, were much better than at Qatar so I'm feeling better prepared now to tackle the next race with a bit more confidence.
"Also, my fitness levels are still going up and I'm finding it much easier to go the full race distance without backing off. I'm more consistent now and that's reflected in my lap times.
"Estoril is a good track to ride. It's got a very long straight and the rest is made up of tighter sections; some of them really tight.
"It's always going to be hard getting a MotoGP bike around there and last year, rear grip was a problem for me. Mind you, we played around with the ZX-RR's settings at Jerez, after the recent Spanish GP, and made some real improvements. Overall it was much better so I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do at the weekend."
autosport.com