It is a clash of the heavyweights in round 16 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga as Porto and Benfica go toe to toe at the Estadio do Dragao on Thursday.
This will be the second meeting between the sides within the space of seven days after Porto secured a comprehensive 3-0 victory when they squared off in the last-16 of the Taca de Portugal last Thursday.
Match preview
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Porto maintained their course for the domestic treble as they secured an emphatic 3-0 victory over Benfica in the last-16 of the Taca de Portugal last Tuesday.
In a thrilling contest at the Estadio do Dragao, where both sides finished with 10 men, Porto went three goals ahead in the opening 30 minutes through a brace from Evanilson and Vitinha's seventh minute strike, before putting on a superb defensive performance to repel the visitors.
That performance was in keeping with their blistering form in the Primeira Liga, where they have enjoyed a sensational first half of the season and look determined to unseat reigning champions Sporting Lisbon.
Sergio Conceicao's men head into Thursday's game on a 10-game winning streak, scoring 27 goals and keeping five clean sheets since a 1-1 draw with Sporting Lisbon at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on September 11.
Porto, who are currently level on 41 points with Sporting at the summit of the Primeira Liga standings, remain one of just two sides unbeaten in the league so far
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Meanwhile, after a superb start to the season, where they made it seven wins from their opening seven games, a few slip-ups have left Benfica playing catch up with two of the "Big Three".
Defeats at the hands of Portimonense and Sporting Lisbon and a 1-1 draw with newly-promoted Estoril Praia on October 30 sees As Aguias needing to close up a four-point gap to their rivals.
With their Taca de Portugal campaign all but over, Benfica will take it as one less competition to worry about as they have struggled for consistency in their race for a first league title in three years.
However, they head into Thursday's game in fine form, claiming four wins from their last five league games, including a 6-1 victory over Braga back in November and an emphatic 7-1 win over Maritimo last time out.
With 22 points from eight games, Benfica boasts the division's best record on the road this season and will look to keep this run going as they look to end their run of seven consecutive games without a win against Porto.
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Team News
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After watching his side make light work of Benfica when the sides squared off last week, Conceicao could name a similar side on Thursday with Evanilson and Mehdi Taremi spearheading the attack.
On the injury front, Porto remain without the services of Spanish defender Ivan Marcano, who has been out of action since sustaining a leg problem back in October.
Former Liverpool man Marko Grujic is also out of contention for the hosts as the 25-year-old midfielder has missed the last three games with a muscle injury.
As for Benfica, the club recently announced the departure of Jorge Jesus, who was appointed manager back in August 2020, with Nelson Verissimo set to take over the reins until the end of the season.
In-form striker Darwin Nunez, who has scored 10 goals in his last seven outings, was an enforced substitute against the Dragoes last time out, but the 22-year-old should be passed fit to feature on Thursday.
However, they will have to make do with the absence of the Brazilian duo of defender Lucas Verissimo and forward Rodrigo Pinho, who continues their lengthy spell on the sidelines after sustaining severe knee and muscle injuries respectively.
While Nemanja Radonjic has made positive progress in his recovery from a back problem, the Serbian midfielder remains unfit to feature for As Aguias.
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Cardoso, Mbemba, Sanusi; Corona, Vitinha, Uribe, Diaz; Taremi, Evanilson
Benfica possible starting lineup:
Vlachodimos; Almeida, Otamendi, Vertonghen; Gilberto, Weigl, Mario, Grimaldo; Silva, Nunez, Pizzi
We say: Porto 2-1 Benfica
Porto head into Thursday's game in outstanding form in the league, claiming 10 straight victories, with four of the last five coming with clean sheets. They have avoided defeat in each of their last seven meetings with Benfica, and considering their current form, we predict this run will continue with the visitors falling to yet another defeat.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Porto win with a probability of 52.95%. A win for Benfica had a probability of 24.23% and a draw had a probability of 22.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Porto win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.76%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (9.02%) and 2-0 (8.3%). The likeliest Benfica win was 1-2 (6.23%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.59%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Porto would win this match.
