A place in the semi-finals of the 2022-23 Taca da Liga will be up for grabs on Wednesday when Porto and Gil Vicente go head to head at the Estadio do Dragao.
Both sides picked up seven points from their opening three cup matches to enjoy an unbeaten run in the group stages and will head into the midweek clash looking to continue in the same vein.
Match preview
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Porto continued their quest for a domestic treble as they picked up a resounding 4-0 victory over Vizela in their Taca da Liga Group A finale to secure a place in the knockout stages.
The game was off to a cracker as Toni Martinez struck within the opening 60 seconds to put the Dragoes ahead before Wanderson Galeno, Wendell and Mehdi Taremi scored second-half goals to see off the Vizelenenses.
Prior to that, Sergio Conceicao's men kicked off their cup campaign with a somewhat disappointing 2-2 draw against 10-man Mafra on November 25 before bouncing back in style two weeks later when they picked up a 2-0 victory at Chaves.
Porto, who finished top of Group A with seven points from a possible nine, head into Wednesday unbeaten in each of their last nine matches across all competitions, picking up seven wins and two draws since a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of rivals Benfica on October 21.
This impressive run saw the Dragoes secure top spot in Group B of the Champions League, ahead of Club Brugge, Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, while also cruising through the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Mafra on November 8.
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Needing all three points to avoid a second Taca da Liga group-stage exit in three years, Gil Vicente turned in a superb team performance in their Group E finale as they saw off Portimonense 3-0 last Wednesday.
In a one-sided affair at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao, Lucas Cunha, Kanya Fujimoto and Spanish forward Fran Navarro all found the back of the net to hand the Gilistas a resounding victory.
This followed a 2-0 victory over Nacional on November 27, when Vitor Carvalho and Cunha scored first-half goals to end their six-game losing streak and see off the Segunda Liga side.
Daniel Sousa's men are now unbeaten in each of their last three matches and their recent upturn in form has been owing to their fine display in defence, where they have kept successive clean sheets for the first time since August.
Gil Vicente will be looking to secure a third win on the bounce for the first time since April 2021 as they look to reach the cup semi-finals for the first time since the 2011-212 campaign, where they finished runners-up to Benfica.
However, standing in their way is a Porto side who are unbeaten in 18 of the last 20 meetings between the teams since 2011, including each of their last seven encounters since a 2-1 loss in August 2019.
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Team News
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Porto will take to the pitch without the services of Nigerian full-back Zaidu Sanusi, who has been out of action since picking up a muscle injury in November's Champions League game against Atletico Madrid.
He is joined on the Dragoes injury table by 25-year-old midfielder Stephen Eustaquio, who sustained a severe muscle injury while in action for Canada in their World Cup clash versus Croatia on November 27.
With several key players back in full training following the World Cup, we expect Conceicao to make several changes down the spine of the team with the likes of Otavio, Taremi and goalkeeper Diogo Costa pushing for starting roles.
With his opener against Portimonense, Cunha has now scored in back-to-back games for Gil Vicente and we expect the Brazilian to marshal the visitors' defence once again, alongside centre-back partner Ruben Fernandes.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Sousa should name an unchanged attacking quartet of Ali Alipour, Murilo Souza, Fujimoto and 24-year-old Navarro, who has scored 12 goals across all competitions this season.
On the injury front, the Gilistas remain without Brazilian goalkeeper Andrew, who has been sidelined since picking up an injury following October's Primeira Liga game against Estoril Praia.
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Cardoso, Marcano, Wendell; Pepe, Uribe, Galeno; Otavio, Taremi, Martinez
Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:
Kritsyuk; Carraca, Cunha, Fernandes, Marin; Tiba, Carvalho; Souza, Fujimoto, Alipour; Navarro
We say: Porto 3-1 Gil Vicente
Gil Vicente have done well to turn around their fortunes in recent weeks and will head into the midweek clash with renewed confidence. However, Porto have enjoyed the better of this fixture and are currently one of the most in-form sides in the division. We are backing Conceicao's side to come away with a comfortable victory on Wednesday, extending their dominance in the history of this fixture.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
