The Estadio do Dragao plays host to a thrilling clash of heavyweights in the Portuguese Primeira Liga as Porto lock horns with Sporting Lisbon on Saturday.
Ruben Amorim's men will head into the weekend desperate to get one over their league rivals having failed to win any of the last five meetings between the sides since January 2021.
Match preview
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Porto maintained their perfect start to their Primeira Liga title defence as they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory against a resilient Vizela side at the Estadio do Vizela last Sunday.
Spanish defender Ivan Marcano came up clutch for the visitors as he netted in the 90th minute to dash the hearts of the Vizelenses, who were minutes away from ending their three-game losing streak against the reigning champions.
Prior to that, Porto kicked off their 2022-23 campaign with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Tondela on July 30 to pick up a record-extending 23rd Portuguese Supertaca title before claiming a comfortable 5-1 win over Maritimo in their league opener on August 6.
Sergio Conceicao's men, who clinched a third league title in the last five years last season, when they claimed 91 points from 34 games, have now won each of their last 10 games across all competitions, dating back to April's 1-0 loss against Braga.
Their next task sees them go up against a Sporting Lisbon side who are yet to come out on top in any of the last five meetings between the sides, losing twice and holding out for three draws since a 2-1 victory in January 2021.
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Amorim's side got their Primeira Liga campaign up and running as they strolled to a comfortable 3-0 victory over newly-promoted Rio Ave when they met last Saturday
In a one-sided affair at the Estadio Jose Alvalade, Portuguese forward Pedro Goncalves found the back of the net either side of Matheus Nunes's 67th-minute strike to hand the Leoes their first win of the season.
Prior to that, Sporting Lisbon endured an underwhelming pre-season run, where they managed just one win in their five friendly outings before holding out for a 3-3 draw with Braga in their league opener on August 7.
The 2019-20 champions head into the weekend on a solid run of results away from home in the Primeira Liga, picking up an impressive seven wins and three draws in their 10 games since the turn of the year.
Next up is the stern challenge of taking on a rampant Porto side who have won each of their last 11 home games across all competitions, stretching back to March's 1-0 loss against Lyon in the Europa League.
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Team News
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Barring any late fitness issues, Porto head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Amorim the luxury of a full strength squad at his disposal.
Despite struggling for all three points against Vizela in their most recent outing, we expect Conceicao to name an unchanged starting side on Saturday, with Joao Mario, Pepe, Marcano and Zaidu Sanusi forming the back line.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Mehdi Taremi, Evanilson and Danny Loader should combine once again, while Pepe, Matheus Uribe and Marko Grujic should retain their roles at the centre of the park.
As far as Sporting Lisbon are concerned, 23-year-old midfielder Daniel Braganca is out of contention for this weekend's encounter after suffering an ACL injury in May.
Portuguese forward Paulinho is also a doubt for the visiting side after sitting out the 3-0 victory over Rio Ave last time out through a slight injury.
Japan international Hidemasa Morita will push for a starting role, coming in for midfield entertainer Nunes, who recently completed a move to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.
With three goals in the opening two games, Gonvalves has flown out of the blocks this season, and the 24-year-old will certainly be one to keep an eye on.
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Pepe, Marcano, Sanusi; Otavio, Uribe, Grujic; Loader, Evanilson, Taremi
Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Adan, Coates, Inacio, Neto; Porro, Morita, Ugarte, Reis; Trincao, Goncalves, Edwards
We say: Porto 2-1 Sporting Lisbon
Saturday's game sees two of the biggest sides in Portuguese football go head to head and this makes for an exciting watch. The reigning champions head into the game in superb form, winning each of their last 10 games across all competitions. While we expect the Leoes to put up a fight, we fancy Porto coming out on top while riding on the wave of support from the home fans.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
