Round 28 of the Primeira Liga comes to an end on Monday as Porto resume their charge for the title when they go head to head with Santa Clara at the Estadio do Dragao.

Os Acoreanos, on the other hand, will head into the game desperate to get one over the hosts, having lost each of the last seven league meetings between the sides since 2018.

Match preview

Porto maintained their six-point lead at the top of the Primeira Liga standings two Sundays ago when they claimed a hard-fought 1-0 win away to Boavista.

In a cagey affair at the Estadio do Bessa, 21-year-old midfielder Fabio Vieira broke the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark and his strike was enough to separate the sides and hand the visitors maximum points.

This followed a 1-1 draw with Ligue 1 outfit Lyon on March 17 which saw them suffer a round-of-16 exit from the Europa League after falling to a 1-0 home defeat in the reverse fixture.

However, Sergio Conceicao's men have been simply outstanding in the Primeira Liga, where they are yet to taste defeat this season and lead the standings with 73 points from 27 games.

This has been owing to their impressive display both in front of goal and at the defensive end of the pitch as they boast the division's second-best record with 68 goals scored while conceding just 19.

Elsewhere, Santa Clara were held to a second consecutive goalless draw last time out when they played host to Belenenses at the Estadio de Sao Miguel.

While Os Acoreanos head into Monday's game unbeaten in each of their last five outings, they have drawn four games in that time, with a 3-1 victory over Vizela on March 6 being the only extra.

This has been owing to their toothless display at the attacking end of the pitch, where they scored just four goals — with three coming against the Vizelenses — as they have conceded just once and kept three clean sheets in that time.

Mario Silva's side have picked up seven wins, 10 draws and lost 10 of their 27 games this season to collect 27 points and sit 10th in the league standings, but they cold move level on points with seventh-placed Estoril Praia with maximum points on Monday.

However, standing in their way is the daunting task of going up against a rampant Porto side who have won each of the last seven meetings between the teams, scoring 13 goals and conceding just twice since 2018.

Team News

Conceicao will be unable to call upon the services of Mehdi Taremi, who also missed Iran's World Cup qualifying ties against South Korea and Lebanon after recently testing positive for COVID-19.

The 29-year-old, who was last in action against Lyon in the Europa League on March 17, has been pivotal in Porto's title push this season, registering 14 goals and 11 assists in 25 appearances.

In his absence, Brazilian forward Evanilson, who boasts 15 goal involvements in 19 league starts, should spearhead the attack alongside the Portuguese duo of Fabio Vieira and Otavio.

On the injury front, Porto will make do with the absence of 27-year-old defender Wilson Manafa, who has been out of action since picking up a knee problem back in December.

As for Santa Clara, Portuguese midfielder Costinha is currently recuperating with a long-term Achilles tendon injury and is out of contention for Monday's game.

Os Acoreanos have been solid in defence of late, conceding just once in their last five outings, and we expect to see a centre-back pairing of Kennedy Boateng and Cristian Tassano shielding goalkeeper Marco Pereira for the sixth game running.

Porto possible starting lineup:
D Costa; Sanusi, Pepe, Mbemba, Mario; Vitinha, Uribe; Vieira, Otavio, Pepe, Evanlison

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Pereira; Ramos, Tassano, Boateng, Mansur; Carvalho, Morita; Ricardinho, Crysan, Lincoln; Costa

We say: Porto 2-0 Santa Clara

Porto head into the game as arguably the most in-form side in the division and will be backing themselves to extend their dominance against the inconsistent visitors.

Santa Clara have managed just one win away from home all season, and we predict Porto will make use of their home advantage and come away with a comfortable victory.

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