Fresh off the back of a Europa League defeat at the hands of Lyon, Porto return to the Primeira Liga where they welcome Tondela to the Estadio do Dragao on Sunday.
The CDT Auriverdes will head into the game desperate to get one over the hosts after losing each of the last 11 meetings between the sides since 2016.
Match preview
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Porto suffered a blow in their Europa League title hunt last Wednesday when they fell to a slender 1-0 defeat at the hands of Lyon in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie on home turf.
In a cagey contest at the Estadio do Dragao, Brazilian forward Lucas Paqueta came up trumps for the Ligue 1 outfit as he scored the only goal of the game one minute before the hour mark.
Ahead of the return leg in France scheduled for March 17, Porto now briefly turn their attention to the Primeira Liga, where they are up between this season and have enjoyed a stellar campaign.
Sergio Conceicao's men have won 21 and drawn four of their 25 games so far to collect 67 points and sit top of the league standings with a healthy six-point cushion over defending champions Sporting Lisbon in second place.
Their domestic dominance has been owing to the solid job done at both ends of the pitch as they boast the league's second meanest defence with 19 goals conceded, while scoring an impressive 63 goals in attack.
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Meanwhile, Tondela failed to build on their Taca de Portugal victory last time out as they were held to a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw by fellow relegation battlers Belenenses on home turf.
Spanish defender Manu put the hosts ahead with his second strike of the season shortly after the half-hour mark before Abel Camara restored parity in the 63rd minute to help O Belem salvage a point.
Prior to that, Pako Ayestaran's side placed one foot firmly in the Taca de Portugal final as they claimed a comprehensive 3-0 win over Mafra in the first leg of their semi-final clash.
Tondela have now failed to taste victory in any of their most recent five league outings, losing four and claiming one draw, while managing just two wins in their last 10 since the turn of the year.
With 21 points from 25 games, the CDT Auriverdes are currently 16th in the Primeira Liga standings, one point behind 15th-placed Arouca just outside the relegation zone.
Next up for Tondela is the daunting task of going up against a rampant Porto side who have won each of the last 11 meetings between the sides since 2016, when they were held to a goalless draw at the Estadio Joao Cardoso.
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Team News
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Brazilian full-back Wendell should return to the fold after missing the game against Lyon last time out as he served the last of his three-match European suspension.
On the injury front, veteran defender Pepe is a major doubt for Porto after he was forced to come off at half time in the aforementioned game through a head injury.
He is joined on the club's injury table by right-back Wilson Manafa, who continues his road to full fitness after picking up a knee problem back in December.
Meanwhile, Ayestaran will be unable to call upon the services of Portuguese youngster Jota Goncalves, who has been out of action since last September through a knee injury.
Italian midfielder Simone Muratore also came off injured in September's game against Braga and the 23-year-old remains out of contention for Tondela.
Naoufel Khacef, who has featured 14 times for the CDT Auriverdes this season, will also play no part in Sunday's game after sustaining an injury in the game against Rio Ave back in January.
Porto possible starting lineup:
D Costa; B Costa, Semedo, Mbemba, Wendell; Vitinha, Uribe, Otavio; Pepe, Evanilson, Taremi
Tondela possible starting lineup:
Trigueira; Manu, Alves, Sagnam; Borges, Dantas, Augusto, D'Almeida, Bebeto; Anjos, Barbosa
We say: Porto 2-0 Tondela
Following their Europa League defeat against Lyon, Porto will be looking to restore some pride on their return to the Primeira Liga. They face a Tondela side who have struggled for results in the history of this fixture and we are backing the Dregoes to come away with all three points unscathed.
Top tip
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 77.81%. A draw had a probability of 14.1% and a win for Tondela had a probability of 8.04%.
The most likely scoreline for a Porto win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.98%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 3-0 (10.5%) and 1-0 (9.12%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.68%), while for a Tondela win it was 0-1 (2.54%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 6.9% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Porto would win this match.
