FC Porto-Alverca: first shot at the Dragons' 31st title | OneFootball

After the 1-2 win away to Estrela da Amadora in Reboleira, FC Porto return home knowing they are just one victory away from securing their 31st national championship title. To do so, they will have to beat FC Alverca at a sold-out Estádio do Dragão, in the 32nd and third-to-last round of the league season. Going into this matchday, the Dragons are top of the table, seven points ahead of Benfica and nine clear of Sporting.

There are three finals left in the country’s main competition, and tonight’s could confirm the big objective of 2025/26. For that to happen, the side coached by Francesco Farioli will have to make their status count as the best home team in the competition: in 15 matches, Porto have recorded 12 wins and three draws, for a total of 39 points out of a possible 45. FC Alverca, meanwhile, have picked up 13 of their 38 points away from home.

In the first half of the season, in Ribatejo, FC Porto won 0-3, thanks to a Borja Sainz brace and a goal from Alan Varela. It was the 11th meeting between the two clubs in history, all of them in the league, the only competition in which they have faced each other. The record is clearly in Porto’s favour, with eight wins, three draws and no victories for the Ribatejo side. The last FC Porto-FC Alverca match was played on 25 April 2004 at the Estádio do Dragão and ended in a 1-0 win for the blue and whites, courtesy of a lone goal by José Bosingwa.

FC Porto

Aware that a win would seal the much-desired title, Francesco Farioli said that “the focus is on the game, with no distractions and no time to think about celebrations,” especially as they will be facing an opponent who deserves full “respect” for “the season they are having.” In his preview of the team’s penultimate home game of the season, the Italian coach made it clear that “this is not a day to lower the intensity.”

“With the results we saw this week, we learned that the game is not over until the final whistle,” Francesco Farioli stressed, adding that the outcome of FC Famalicão-Benfica, which takes place before FC Porto-FC Alverca, is irrelevant: “Whatever happens before the match will not change the team’s approach or spirit.” For that reason, the coach expects the Dragons to take to the pitch “with an irreproachable attitude” and with the Ribatejo side “at the centre of our attention.”

After another training session at the CTFD Jorge Costa, and knowing he still cannot count on injured players Nehuén Pérez, Luuk de Jong and Samu, the blue-and-white coach said he was “very grateful to this group of players and to the people I have been working with for months,” but stressed that “now we have to keep our attention on every detail; nothing will change in the final 18 days of the season.” “Attention and commitment” are therefore essential.

Matching the points record “is a potential objective,” but to get there “we need to take a few steps,” and this is the next one. “That game there can be a good reference for the different tactical scenarios, and I am sure this one will be different because we had a week to prepare and this could be a moment for them to try new things. We have to be bold and smart to find new solutions,” concluded Francesco Farioli.

FC Alverca

Going into matchday 32, FC Alverca sit in a comfortable 15th place with 38 points, have already mathematically secured survival, and arrive at the Dragão on the back of three wins and two defeats in their last five matches. In their ten most recent games, they have suffered only two losses. In the previous round, the Ribatejo side hosted and beat FC Arouca 2-1, with goals from Naves and Marezi.

Against the Arouca side, on 24 April, Matheus Mendes, Naves, Sergi Gómez, Bastien Meupiyou, Nabil Touaizi, Isaac James, Rhaldney, Lincoln, Figueiredo, Chiquinho and Sandro Lima started the match. From the bench, coach Custódio Castro brought on Diogo Spencer, Steven Baseya, Vasco Moreira, Davy Gui and Marezi.

The 38 points FC Alverca have collected so far come from 10 wins, 8 draws and 13 defeats in 31 matches, with a goal difference of 34 scored and 49 conceded. Spanish-Moroccan right-back Nabil Touaizi and Serbian forward Marezi are the players most used by Custódio Castro, both with 30 league appearances, while Marezi is also the team’s top scorer with nine goals.

Refereeing team

David Silva, from the Porto Football Association, was the referee appointed by the Arbitration Council of the Portuguese Football Federation. The 32-year-old official will be assisted by Carlos Campos and Nélson Cunha, while Miguel Fonseca will be the fourth official. Pedro Ferreira will be on VAR duty, with Nuno Eiras as assistant.

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