Fresh off the back of a stunning Champions League victory over Arsenal, Porto journey to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos to take on Gil Vicente in round 23 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Vitor Campelos's men have lost each of their last four home games against the Dragoes since a 2-1 win in August 2019 and will be looking to end this poor run this weekend.
Match preview
Gil Vicente finally stopped the rot last Sunday as they fought back from behind to secure a 3-1 victory over 10-man Estoril Praia when the sides squared off at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.
In a game where Rodrigo Gomes received his marching orders, Gabriel Pereira, Felix Correia and Ali Alipour all found the target in the final half-hour to cancel out Alejandro Marques's 46th-minute opener and hand the Canarinhos their 13th defeat of the season.
Prior to that, the Gilistas were on a three-game losing streak, suffering league defeats to Benfica and Vizela on either side of a 3-1 loss against Vitoria de Guimaraes in the Taca de Portugal on February 8.
Gil Vicente now return to the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, where they are unbeaten in all but one of their last 10 matches across all competitions, picking up five wins and four draws since the start of September.
With 25 points from their 22 Primeira Liga matches, Campelos's side are currently 10th in the league standings but will be looking over their shoulders as they sit just four points above the relegation playoff spot.
While victory on Sunday could take Gil Vicente into the top half of the table, they face the daunting challenge of going up against a rampant Porto side who are unbeaten in 18 of their last 20 meetings, claiming 16 wins and two draws since January 2011.
Wenderson Galeno grabbed the headlines at the Estadio do Dragao as he netted a 94th-minute curler to hand Porto a dramatic 1-0 victory over Premier League side Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash on Wednesday.
While the Dragoes were guilty of a wasteful display in front of goal, as they failed to tuck home several clear-cut chances earlier in the game, they showed their mettle at the opposite end of the pitch, where they ensured that Mikel Arteta's side finished without a single shot on target.
With the thrill from their midweek success still lingering in the air, Porto now turn their attention to the Primeira Liga, where they secured a 2-0 victory over Estrela Amadora last Saturday to keep their slim title dreams alive.
Sergio Conceicao's men have won 15 of their 22 league matches while losing four and claiming three draws to collect 48 points and sit third in the table, eight points off top spot with a little over a quarter of the season to go.
Porto head into the weekend unbeaten in seven of their last eight Primeira Liga matches — claiming five wins and two draws — with a shock 3-2 defeat at the hands of Arouca on February 12 being the exception.
However, the 30-time Portuguese champions have won just one of their last four games on the road, an area needing improvement if they are to close the gap on rivals Sporting Lisbon and Benfica at the top of the table.
Team News
Portuguese defender Kiko Vilas Boas has missed Gil Vicente's last five matches through a muscle injury and the 24-year-old will play no part in Sunday's game.
Fellow countryman Ze Carlos is also set to sit out his fourth game on the bounce after coming off injured in the 3-0 defeat against Benfica on February 4.
Martim Neto missed Sunday's game against Estoril through a one-game suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Vizela on February 13 but the 21-year-old available for selection this weekend.
Porto remain without several key players down the spine of the team, as the likes of Wendell (calf), Goncalo Ribeiro (muscle) and Ivan Marcano (knee) are all recuperating from injuries.
Veteran striker Mehdi Taremi picked up a thigh problem against Arouca on February 12, while full-back Zaidu Sanusi missed the midweek clash against Arsenal through a knee injury.
With his winner on Wednesday, Galeno now has six goal involvements in his last eight matches and the Brazilian forwards will certainly be one to keep an eye out for.
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Andrew; Pinto, Pereira, Fernandes, Buta; Tiba, Gbane; Toure, Dominguez, Souza; Correia
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Pepe, Otavio, Cardoso; Varela, Gonzalez; Conceicao, Pepe, Galeno; Evanilson
We say: Gil Vicente 1-3 Porto
While Gil Vicente will be looking to pick up where they left off against Estoril, they face a bogey Porto side whom they have failed to get the better of in 18 of their last 20 meetings. Given the gulf in class and quality between the two teams, we are backing the visitors to come away with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
body check tags ::
Previews by email
