Vitória SC v FC Porto: Clash between two in-form sides | OneFootball

The D. Afonso Henriques Stadium will be, at the beginning of Sunday evening, the stage for the most anticipated clash of the 18th round of the Primeira Liga (the first of the second half of the season), which pits the newly crowned winter champion, Vitória SC, against the clear table leader, FC Porto.

The Dragons take to the field knowing that only a win will allow them to regain their comfortable seven-point lead over second-placed Sporting, who, on Friday, hosted and defeated Casa Pia 3-0. There is also a sense of ‘revenge’ in the air, after, on their way to winning the League Cup, they were knocked out precisely by this opponent with a 1-3 defeat.

Italian coach Francesco Farioli has reasons to smile, as on the eve of the match he received a ‘major reinforcement’: Francisco Moura was deemed recovered from a muscle injury in his left adductor and is available to be included in the squad list for this trip to Guimarães.

The task, however, promises to be difficult, because the Vimaranense side comes into the match with a run of three consecutive victories, all by 2-1, against Nacional, Sporting, and Sporting de Braga, and now seeks to assert their strength at ‘home’.

Vitória SC currently occupies seventh place, with 25 points, and is aware that only by ‘shifting into fourth gear’ will they be able to stay in the fight for the spots granting access to European competitions, in a championship where Gil Vicente continues to establish themselves as the surprise team.

The Vitória SC–FC Porto match is scheduled to kick off at 8:30 pm (mainland Portugal time) and will be refereed by João Gonçalves, from the Porto Football Association, who will have Pedro Ribeiro and Ângelo Carneiro as assistants, Bruno Costa as fourth official, Tiago Martins in the VAR, and Pedro Felisberto as AVAR.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.