The Portuguese Primeira Liga returns with a fresh set of thrilling fixtures as title-chasing Porto visit the Dom Afonso Henriques to face Vitoria de Guimaraes on Sunday.
Sergio Conceicao's men will head into the game seeking to complete a third consecutive league double over the Os Vimaranenses having won each of the last five league meetings between the sides.
Match preview
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Vitoria de Guimaraes returned to winning ways in the Primeira Liga as they saw off a dogged Moreirense side 1-0 away from home last Sunday.
In a cagey affair at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas, Brazilian forward Rochinha scored the only goal of the game two minutes after the hour mark to hand the hosts a fourth straight defeat.
This followed a 3-1 loss at the hands of Sporting Lisbon on March 13, when Pablo Sarabia, Paulinho and Marcus Edwards scored to end their run of two consecutive victories.
Vitoria de Guimaraes have won 11, drawn six and lost 11 of their 28 games this season to collect 39 points and sit sixth in the Primeira Liga standings, seven points off Gil Vicente in the final Conference League qualification spot.
While Pepa's side will look to keep the juggernaut rolling, next up is an opposing side who have won each of the most recent six meetings between the sides since 2019 and have lost just twice in their last 20 encounters.
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Porto, on the other hand, maintained their charge for the title as they cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Santa Clara at the Estadio do Dragao last Monday.
Twenty-one-year-old midfielder Fabio Vieira struck twice in a three-minute spell to put the hosts two goals up heading into the interval before Zaidu Sanusi scored with six minutes on the clock to cap off a dominant team display.
Porto, who remain the only unbeaten side in the Primeira Liga, have won each of their most recent four league outings, scoring 12 goals and keeping two clean sheets since a 1-1 draw with Gil Vicente on February 27.
With 76 points from 28 games, Conceicao's side currently sit top of the table, six points above reigning champions Sporting Lisbon while they boast a healthy 15-point cushion over fellow rivals Benfica in third place.
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Team News
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Vitoria de Guimaraes will take to the pitch without Portuguese youngster Joao Ferreira after the 21-year-old defender picked up an injury in the game against Arouca back in February.
Another name on Os Vimaranenses' injury table is midfielder Tomas Handel, who has been out of action since February through injury.
As for Porto, Colombian midfielder Mateus Uribe was forced off injured shortly into the second half against Santa Clara and is out of contention for Sunday's game, meaning Marko Grujic could be recalled to the XI.
Twenty-seven-year-old defender Wilson Manafa also misses out as he continues his spell on the sidelines after sustaining a leg problem back in December.
Portuguese forward Bruno Costa, who has 12 league appearances under his belt so far, is also a doubt for Porto having missed their last two games through injury.
Following his brace against the Azoreans, Vieira has now scored or assisted in each of his last six games for club and country and the 21-year-old will certainly be one to keep an eye out for.
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Soares, Borevkovic, Mumin, Maga; Silva, Almeida, Semedo; Lameiras, Rochinha, Estupinan
Porto possible starting lineup:
D Costa; Sanusi, Pepe, Mbemba, Mario; Vitinha, Grujic; Vieira, Otavio, Pepe; Taremi
We say: Vitoria de Guimaraes 0-3 Porto
Vitoria de Guimaraes have enjoyed a fine spell in recent weeks, claiming three wins from their most recent four games. However, they are faced with the daunting task of squaring up against a rampant Porto side who have so far proven to be unbeatable. Porto have won each of the last six meetings between the teams and we predict they will extend this streak on Sunday.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Porto win with a probability of 60.84%. A draw had a probability of 19.9% and a win for Vitoria de Guimaraes had a probability of 19.23%.
The most likely scoreline for a Porto win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.76%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.41%) and 0-1 (7.66%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (8.89%), while for a Vitoria de Guimaraes win it was 2-1 (5.16%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Porto would win this match.
