Preview: Vitoria de Guimaraes vs Porto - prediction, team news, lineups

Still basking in the ecstasy of their Taca da Liga triumph, Vitoria de Guimaraes return to Primeira Liga duty as they welcome leaders Porto to the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques on Sunday for round 18 action.

Both sides come off high-profile derby encounters, with the Conquerors beating their Minho rivals Braga 2-1 to lift the League Cup last Saturday, while the Dragons arrive on the back of a hard-fought 1-0 win against Benfica in their Taca de Portugal quarter-final.

Match preview

For a dark horse like Vitoria, ending a 13-year wait for silverware would hardly come without overcoming Portuguese football’s established powers, and their Taca da Liga triumph delivered exactly that, seeing off three of the country’s biggest clubs.

Victory at Porto in the quarter-final was followed by dramatic comeback 2-1 wins over Sporting Lisbon and Braga in the semi-final and final, respectively, with Alioune Ndoye coming up trumps on both occasions.

The 24-year-old forward scored a stoppage-time brace versus the Lions and an 83rd-minute winner in the showpiece against the Archbishops, though Vitoria’s third-ever piece of silverware would not have been complete without the heroics of goalkeeper Charles Silva, who saved Rodrigo Zalazar’s stoppage-time penalty.

The Conquerors’s recent feat was also the product of a resurgent run, having gone from a three-game winless spell (D1, L2) – which included a Taca de Portugal elimination against AVS – to recording three straight wins, including a 2-1 victory over Nacional in their most recent league outing.

Luis Pinto’s men have now won four of their last seven top-flight games (D2, L1), a marked improvement from earlier in the campaign, having accrued three more points than they managed in their opening 10 fixtures (11 points – W3, D2, L5).

Currently seventh in the Primeira Liga standings at the halfway point of the season and just three points adrift of fourth-placed Gil Vicente and two behind Braga and Moreirense in fifth and sixth, respectively, Vitoria’s ambitions of a top-four finish remain very much alive, and they will fancy their chances of strengthening that position with a victory on Sunday.

The hosts, however, must contend with inconsistent form on their own turf, with that success over Nacional marking only their fourth win in nine league games at home this season, none of which came in succession.

Porto, on the other hand, have had an otherwise flawless domestic campaign in 2025–26, and their Taca da Liga defeat to Vitoria stands as the only blemish in their last 13 outings across all competitions (W12).

Since that setback, Francesco Farioli’s men have gone on to win eight consecutive games, including a 1-0 Classico victory in the Taca de Portugal quarter-final clash in midweek at the Estadio do Dragao, after failing to take maximum points when both sides met in the league back in October.

That goalless draw remains the only league game Porto have failed to take full spoils in this season, while the latest of an impressive run of 16 wins in their opening 17 fixtures came in a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Santa Clara, courtesy of a 50th-minute strike from Samu Omorodion.

Seven points clear atop the Primeira Liga standings, the Dragons’s campaign has been built on excellence at both ends of the pitch, with 36 goals scored – the joint-second most in the division – while they boast the tightest defence, conceding just four, with 13 clean sheets.

Porto’s dominance in this fixture at Guimaraes suggests they could extend their impressive record, having kept seven shutouts in their last 11 away games against Vitoria across all competitions, with 10 wins and one draw secured in that stretch.

Vitoria de Guimaraes Primeira Liga form:

Vitoria de Guimaraes form (all competitions):

Porto Primeira Liga form:

Porto form (all competitions):

Team News

Vitoria captain Nelson Oliveira received a straight red card on the bench in the League Cup final against Braga, with the Disciplinary Council suspending him for two games and imposing a fine of 715 euros, meaning he will play no part in Sunday’s game.

That leaves the number nine role undisputed for Ndoye, who is likely to earn his fourth league start, and the forward will look to produce another decisive performance.

Left-back Joao Mendes will serve a one-match ban, having also been dismissed in the game against Braga after picking up a second yellow card, while Oscar Rivas Viondi remains sidelined with injury.

Pablo Rosario will also miss out for Porto due to disciplinary action after picking up his fifth booking of the league campaign against Santa Clara, while left-back Francisco Moura, who was forced off in that encounter, will sit out a second consecutive game.

Luuk de Jong remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury, while Nehuen Perez and Tomas Perez continue their recoveries from Achilles tendon issues, and Zaidu Sanusi is still away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

Scorer of the decisive goal against Benfica, Jan Bednarek limped off during that match, making his availability for Sunday uncertain, so veteran defender Thiago Silva could be handed another start following his impressive display in that game.

Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:

Castillo; Maga, Nobrega, Abascal, Lebedenko; Nogueira, Mitrovic; Arcanjo, Samu, Saviolo; Ndoye

Porto possible starting lineup:

D Costa; A Costa, T Silva, Kiwior, Fernandes; Veiga, Varela, Froholdt; Pepe, Samu, W Gomes

We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 0-1 Porto

Porto have kept clean sheets in each of their last four games across all competitions and are operating on a different level in the Primeira Liga, having also won all eight of their away fixtures, so we are therefore backing them to claim full spoils on Sunday.

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