Fresh off the back of a Champions League defeat against Barcelona, Porto go head to head with Portimonense in round eight of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Having lost each of the last 12 meetings between the sides, the visitors journey to the Estadio do Dragao looking to get one over the hosts and pick up a third away win on the bounce.
Match preview
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Porto's perfect start to the new Champions League campaign came to an end on Wednesday when they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of La Liga heavyweights Barcelona in Lisbon.
Spanish Ferran Torres grabbed the headlines at the Estadio do Dragao as he netted the only goal of the game to inspire Xavi's men to a second win in Group H and send them top of the table.
Prior to that, Sergio Conceicao's side were handed their first Primeira Liga of the season as they were beaten 1-0 by Benfica in Primeira Liga in the latest edition of the heated O Classico on September 29.
Porto, who have now suffered two back-to-back defeats for the first time since February, return home where they have won eight of their last nine league matches, with a 1-1 draw against Arouca on September 3 being the exception.
The Dragoes have picked up five wins, one draw and lost one of their opening seven matches to collect 16 points and sit third in the Primeira Liga table, three points adrift of first-placed Sporting Lisbon.
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Portimonense, on the other hand, overcame a comeback scare last time out as they picked up a slender 3-2 victory over Vizela when the sides squared off at the Estadio do FC Vizela.
After falling behind to first half goals from Carlinhos and Ronie Carrillo, the Vizelenses drew level courtesy of a 58th-minute striker from Samuel Essende and Felipe Relvas's 85th-minute own goal, but Carlinhos grabbed his second of the game with three minutes left to play to hand the visitors all three points.
This was a second consecutive away victory for the Alvinegros, who also scraped a 2-1 victory at Vitoria de Guimaraes on September 17 thanks to a brace from Carlinhos in the final 16 minutes of the game.
Having failed to win any of their opening four league matches, Portimonense have now picked up two wins from their last three outings, with a 3-1 loss against Benfica on September 24 sandwiched between the two victories.
This upturn in form has seen Paulo Sergio's men rise to 11th place in the Primeira Liga standings, just one point off the top half of the table, having picked up eight points from their opening seven matches.
While Portimonense will look to maintain their fine form on the road, next up is the stern challenge of going up against a Porto side who have won each of the last 12 meetings between the teams, stretching back to a 2-1 friendly loss in July 2018.
Team News
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Porto will be without the services of 29-year-old defender Fabio Cardoso, who will serve the first of his three-game domestic suspension after picking up a straight red card against Benfica on September 29.
The Dragoes also remain without several players down the spine of the team as the likes of Gabriel Veron (muscle), Ivan Marcano (knee) and Zaidu Sanusi (muscle) continue their spells on the sidelines.
Porto will have to cope without the experience of 40-year-old defender Pepe, who has missed each of Porto's last three matches since coming off injured against Shakhtar Donetsk on September 19.
Meanwhile, Portimonense will take to the pitch without Portuguese full-back Goncalo Costa, who is suspended after picking up a red card in the game against Vizela last time out.
On the injury front, Sergio will be without the attacking duo of Luan Campos and Dennis Adeniran, who continue their spells on the sidelines.
They are joined on the Alvinegros' injury table by 28-year-old goalkeeper Kusoke Nakamura, who had missed the last three matches after picking up a shoulder problem in September.
Porto possible starting lineup:
Costa; Mario, Carmo, Ze Pedro, Wendell; Eustaquio, Varela, Baro, Galeno; Pepe, Taremi
Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Silvestre; Pedrao, Relvas, Alemao; Moura, Carlinhos, Dener, Seck; Jasper, Carrillo, Varela
We say: Porto 2-0 Portimonense
Still licking their wounds from Wednesday's Champions League defeat, Porto will head into the weekend looking to pick up a morale-boosting result. While Portimonense appear to have hit their stride, Porto's record in this fixture makes them firm favourites to come away with all three points and we fancy them extending their dominance over the Alvinegros.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
