Porto will be looking to close the gap on first-placed Benfica when they take on Vizela at the Estadio do Dragao in round 19 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Having lost each of the five meetings between the sides since December 2021, the Vizelenses will head into the weekend desperate to get one over the home team.
Match preview
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Porto ensured that they remained within touching distance of league leaders Benfica at the top of the Primeira Liga table as they claimed a 2-0 victory over league strugglers Maritimo at the Estadio do Maritimo.
Following a heated first half in which Pablo Moreno, Bernardo Folha and even head coach Sergio Conceicao picked up red cards, the Brazilian duo of Wendell and Wenderson Galeno scored quick-fire goals to sink the hosts.
This followed a comfortable 2-0 victory over rivals Sporting Lisbon in the Taca da Liga final on January 28 when Stephen Eustaquio and Ivan Marcano scored in either half at the Estadio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa to hand the Dragoes their first League Cup crown.
Porto head into the weekend on a run of six consecutive victories across all competitions, scoring 14 goals and conceding once since their goalless draw against Casa Pia in their first outing of the year.
Conceicao's side, who are also unbeaten in 18 consecutive matches across all competitions, have picked up 13 wins, three draws and lost two of their 18 league matches to collect 42 points and sit second in the Primeira Liga table, eight points off Benfica.
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Vizela, on the other hand, maintained their string of impressive performances on home soil as they cruised to a 3-1 victory over 10-man Rio Ave at the Estadio do FC Vizela last weekend.
In a game where Aderllan Santos received his marching orders, Aziz netted on the stroke of half time to hand the visitors a first-half lead but Samu, Igor Juliao and Milutin Osmajic hit the target in the second period to turn the tie on its head.
Manuel Tulipa's side have now won each of their last three home matches, scoring nine goals and keeping two clean sheets since a 2-2 draw against Chaves when the sides met in Group A of the Taca da Liga on November 22.
However, it has been a different story away from home, where Vizela have struggled to grind out results in recent weeks, losing four and picking up one draw in their last six matches since the start of November.
With 24 points from 18 matches, the Vizelenses are currently eighth in the Primeira Liga standings, level on points with ninth-placed Boavista and six points off Casa Pia in the last Europa Conference League qualification spot.
Team News
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Porto will be without Portuguese youngster Bernardo Folha, who will serve a one-game suspension, while manager Conceicao will watch from the stands following his red card against Maritimo.
On the injury front, Serbian midfielder Marko Grujic has missed the last three matches through a hamstring problem and will play no part in this game.
He is joined on the injury table by Brazilian forward Gabriel Veron, who has missed each of the last two matches through an ankle injury.
Meanwhile, Vizela head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns and we expect Tulipa to name his strongest XI on Sunday.
With his strike against Rio Ave, Osmajic has four goals in his last five matches and we expect the Cadiz loanee to spearhead the Vizelenses' attack once again.
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Pepe, Marcano, Wendell; Uribe, Franco; Pepe, Otavio, Galeno; Taremi
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Buntic; Juliao, Claudemir, Wilson, Anderson, Kiki; Moreira, Guzzo, Samu, Bondoso; Osmajic
We say: Porto 2-0 Vizela
While Vizela have put together a fine run of form in recent weeks, they are in for a tough 90 minutes against a Porto side who are currently firing on all cylinders. Conceicao's side have been imperious in the history of this fixture and we are backing them to come away with another victory on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
