Porto will look to bring their domestic cup success to the Primeira Liga when they travel to Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior to face Casa Pia on Sunday evening.
The hosts are currently in ninth place in the league standings with 32 points after 29 games, while the visitors are third with 59 points over the same period.
Match preview
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After finishing in mid-table following their promotion to the top flight last season, Casa Pia are on course to crack the top half this term, currently one point ahead of Farense in 10th.
Os Gansos played out a second consecutive draw in the league last weekend, ending level at 2-2 against Portimonense on the road, which extended their recent unbeaten run to three matches, including a goalless draw against Estoril and a 4-0 win over basement club Vizela.
Against Alvinegros Marafados, Casa Pia found themselves two goals down inside the first half hour of play, but Yuki Soma's goal before the break halved the deficit, and Nermin Zolotic notched his first of the season to pull his side level in the second period.
Following the departure of Pedro Moreira in February, Goncalo Santos has managed 12 points from his first eight games in charge (W3 D3 L2), and his side have been noticeably improved in defence, maintaining five clean sheets since his arrival.
Still, the new boss will know that he faces an uphill battle here against an opponent that beat his team 3-1 earlier in the season - a result that marked their third consecutive match without victory in this contest dating back to January last year.
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Meanwhile, after coming up two points short of the title last season, Porto have struggled to keep up with Sporting and Benfica this term, currently trailing the Eagles by 11 while they are 18 behind the Lions with five games left to play.
Os Dragoes are also at risk of missing out on European competition next season. After drawing 2-2 with Famalicao last weekend, Braga drew level with them on 59 points, while Vitoria de Guimaraes are just two points behind in fifth.
However, Porto is still in with a chance of earning some silverware this season after securing a 3-1 victory against Vitoria in the Taca de Portugal semi-final second leg in midweek. That resulted in a 4-1 aggregate win and earned them a spot in the final, where they will face Sporting next month.
Nelson Oliveira provided Os Vimaranenses with a strong start by scoring in the opening minute in midweek, levelling the tie on aggregate. However, Porto, spurred on by the dynamic performance of Francisco Conceicao, swiftly regained control, netting three unanswered goals courtesy of Mehdi Taremi, Conceicao himself and Pepe Aquino.
Sergio Conceicao's side will now look to bring an end to a three-match winless streak in league matches, but that will not be an easy feat against this opponent, who have only conceded a single goal in their last five matches at Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior.
Team News
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Beni Mukendi was sent off for a second bookable offence in the dying moments of Casa Pia's draw against Portimonense and will serve his one-match suspension this weekend.
Kiki Silva is the only reported absentee for Os Gansos here, and he is likely to miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury. Soma got his third of the season last time out and should keep his place in the front three alongside Felippe Cardoso and Nuno Moreira.
Ivan Marcano and Zaidu Sanusi are long-term absentees for Os Dragoes and the pair are likely done for the season with ACL tears, while Fabio Cardoso is flagged as a doubt with a muscle injury.
Evanilson was shown a straight red in Porto's 2-2 draw agaisnt Famalicao last weekend, and he will serve the first of his three-match suspension here; Taremi should lead the line in his absence.
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Tchamba, Zolotic, Nunes; Larrazabal, Neto, Segovia, Lelo; Moreira, Cardoso, Soma
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Sanchez, Otavio, Pedro, Wendell; Gonzalez, Grujic, Conceicao, Pepe, Galeno; Taremi
We say: Casa Pia 0-1 Porto
With the race for the European spots still wide open, Porto will know the importance of taking all three points here, as failing to do so could see them drop to fifth place by the end of this weekend. However, Os Dragoes picked up a morale-boosting win over Vitoria in midweek, and we feel they will follow up that result with another victory in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
