Casa Pia and Porto will take to the pitch for the first time in the new year when they go head to head at the National Sports Center of Jamor in round 15 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Saturday.
With league leaders Benfica dropping points away to Braga last Friday, Sergio Conceicao's side will head into the weekend looking to pick up a fifth win on the bounce and end closer to the top of the table.
Match preview
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Casa Pia wrapped up what was a productive 2022 in style as they snatched a late 2-1 victory over a dogged Portimonense side at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao last Wednesday.
Brazilian forward Luquinha made no mistake from 12 yards out as he converted his 35th-minute penalty to cancel out Neto's opener, but late substitute Carnejy Antoine struck in the fourth minute of stoppage time to hand the visitors a dramatic victory.
Prior to that, Casa Pia picked up a 1-0 victory over Trofense in their Taca da Liga Group D finale on December 12 before falling to a 1-0 loss against Italian outfit Roma in a friendly matchup one week later.
Filipe Martins's men, who secured their return to the top flight last May, head into the new year on a run of three wins from their last four Primeira Liga matches, with a 2-1 home loss at the hands of Chaves on November 13 being the only exception.
Casa Pia currently sit fifth in the league standings with 26 points from 15 matches, two points off fourth-placed Sporting Lisbon and three above Vitoria de Guimaraes just outside the final Europa Conference League qualification spot.
Os Gansos' impressive performance in the first half of the season has been owing to their ability to grind out results on the road as they currently boast the league's joint second-best away record with 16 points from seven matches.
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On the other hand, Porto continued their charge to the summit of the Primeira Liga table as they picked up a emphatic 5-0 victory over Arouca when the sides squared off last Wednesday.
In a one-sided affair at the Estadio do Dragao, Otavio opened the scoring within the first 60 seconds of the game before Iran international Mehdi Taremi netted a hat-trick to inspire the hosts to a resounding victory.
Prior to that, Conceicao's men secured their spot in the semi-finals of the Taca da Liga as they picked up a 2-0 victory over 10-man Gil Vicente on December 21 courtesy of goals from Wanderson Galeno and Taremi.
The Dragoes head into the new year on a run of four consecutive victories across all competitions, while they are unbeaten in their last 11 matches, claiming nine wins and two draws since October's 1-0 loss to rivals Benfica.
Porto have now picked up 10 wins, two draws and lost two of their 14 Primeira Liga matches this season to collect 32 points and sit third in the table, five points adrift of first-placed Benfica.
Team News
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With his winner against Portimonense last time out, Antoine now has two goals in his last three matches and the 31-year-old forward could be rewarded with a starting role on Saturday.
On the injury front, Casa Pia will take to the pitch without the services of Corinthians loanee Leo Natel, who has missed the last seven matches through an ACL injury.
He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow Brazilian Lucas Paes Souza, who is set to sit out his fifth consecutive game through a muscle problem.
As for Porto, Evanilson missed the game against Arouca last Wednesday and the 23-year-old striker is out of contention for the trip to the National Sports Center of Jamor.
Veteran defender Pepe has been out of action since returning from the World Cup due to an arm injury, while Zaidu Sanusi is currently recuperating from a muscle problem.
Following his hat-trick against the Arouquenses, Taremi now has nine goals to his name and the 30-year-old, who currently sits top of the Primeira Liga scoring chart, should lead the visitors' attack once again.
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Bolgado, Fernandes, Nunes; Soares, Neto, Brice, Lelo; Clayton, Martins, Antoine
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Pepe, Cardoso, Marcano, Wendell; Otavio, Grujic, Uribe, Galeno; Pepe, Taremi
We say: Casa Pia 1-3 Porto
While Casa Pia have put together a fine run of form in the league, next up is the stern challenge of taking on a rampant Porto side who are currently firing on all cylinders. Given the gulf in quality between the two sides, we are backing Conceicao's side to claim a comfortable win on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
