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Porto
Primeira Liga | Gameweek 28
Apr 15, 2023 at 8.30pm UK
Estádio Do Dragão
Santa Clara

Porto
2 - 1
Santa Clara

Uribe (34' pen.), Loader (80')
Marcano (51'), Franco (89')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Tagawa (90+2')
Costinha (17'), Jordao (20'), Nogueira (32'), Allano (33'), Sagna (41')

Preview: Porto vs. Santa Clara - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Primeira Liga clash between Porto and Santa Clara, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Fresh off the back of a thrilling O Classico victory over rivals Benfica, Porto play host to Santa Clara in round 28 of the Primeira Liga at the Estadio do Dragao on Saturday.

Os Acoreanos, who are currently rooted to the bottom of the league table, head into the weekend looking to pick up their first win since November and keep their slender survival hopes alive.


Match preview

Porto's Mateus Uribe celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on April 7, 2023© Reuters

Porto kept their dreams of retaining the Primeira Liga title alive as they came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory over league leaders Benfica when the sides squared off last Friday.

The Dragoes journeyed to the Estadio da Luz knowing that defeat could effectively spell the end of their title chase as they sat 10 points behind Roger Schmidt's side in the league table.

Benfica looked set to run away with it after an own goal from Diogo Costa gifted them a 10th-minute lead, but Mateus Uribe restored parity on the stroke of half time before Mehdi Taremi completed the comeback in the 54th minute.

Porto have now gone six consecutive games without defeat across all competitions, claiming four wins and two draws since their 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Gil Vicente on February 26.

Sergio Conceicao's side return to the Estadio do Dragao, where they have won all but one of their last eight matches, scoring 20 goals and keeping four clean sheets since the start of November.

Porto have now picked up 20 wins and four draws in their 27 matches so far to collect 64 points and sit second in the Primeira Liga table, seven points adrift of Benfica.

Santa Clara's Italo in action on January 21, 2023© Reuters

At the opposite end of the table, Santa Clara suffered a fresh blow in their relegation scrap last Friday when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Vizela at the Estadio de Sao Miguel.

In a game where Paulo Henrique received his marching orders, the hosts turned in another spineless display as Milutin Osmajic struck his seventh goal of the season in the 31st minute to hand the Vizelenses a third win on the trot.

With that result, Os Acoreanos have failed to score in four consecutive games and have lost each of their last eight outings, stretching back to a 2-2 draw against Boavista on February 4.

Santa Clara have also now gone 18 straight games without a win across all competitions, losing 15 and claiming three draws since their 3-1 victory over Estoril Praia on November 15.

With 15 points from 27 games, Danildo Accioly's men are rooted to the bottom of the league table, 10 points away from safety and four off 16th-placed Maritimo in the relegation playoff spot.

With just seven games remaining to save their season, Santa Clara must see off the threat of a spirited Porto side who are unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 encounters, claiming 10 wins and one draw since December 2018.

Porto Primeira Liga form:


Porto form (all competitions):


Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:


Team News

Porto's Fabio Cardoso celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on April 2, 2023© Reuters

Joao Mario was forced off injured a few minutes after coming off the bench in last week's win over Benfica and the 23-year-old defender is a major doubt for Porto.

Other than that, Porto boast a clean bill of health with no suspension concerns and we expect Conceicao to name a similar XI on Monday.

Taremi returned to the scoresheet with his 14th league goal of the season in the aforementioned game and the Iran international should lead Porto's attack once again.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara will have to make do without Henrique, who will serve a one-game suspension after picking up a late red card in last week's game against Vizela.

In his absence, Brazilian defender Paulo Eduardo should fill in at left-back, forming the back four with Ygor Nogueira, Kennedy Boateng and French full-back Pierre Sagna.

On the injury front, Os Acoreanos remain without Marco Rocha and Tomas Domingos, who have been ruled out through hamstring and knee injuries respectively.

Having failed to score in their last four outings, Accioly could make changes in attack, with Kyosuke Tagawa and Ricardinho potentially starting this weekend after coming off the bench against the Vizelenses.

Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Manafa, Pepe, Marcano, Wendell; Otavio, Grujic, Uribe, Galeno; Taremi, Pepe

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Batista; Sagna, Nogueira, Firmino, Fagundes; Costinha, Boateng; Allano, Misao, Andrezinho; Babi


SM words green background

We say: Porto 3-0 Santa Clara

Porto will be licking their lips as they take on a floundering Santa Clara side who have endured a gruesome campaign. Given the gulf in quality and experience between the two sides, and their contrasting form, we are backing Porto to pick up from where they left off against Benfica and claim a comfortable win in front of their home fans.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Porto vs Santa Clara

Porto
95.8%
Draw
0.0%
Santa Clara
4.2%
24
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Benfica's Joao Mario celebrates scoring their second goal on March 18, 2023
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sporting Lisbon1111003953433
2Porto119022882027
3Benfica108112872125
4Santa ClaraSanta Clara117041412221
5Braga116231911820
6Vitoria de GuimaraesGuimaraes115331211118
7FamalicaoFamalicao11452129317
8MoreirenseMoreirense115241514117
9Casa Pia113441014-413
10Rio AveRio Ave113351020-1012
11Gil Vicente112451419-510
12Estoril PraiaEstoril11245816-810
13AVS11245919-1010
14BoavistaBoavista11236715-89
15Estrela Amadora112361020-109
16Nacional10226615-98
17AroucaArouca11227619-138
18SC FarenseFarense11128518-135


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