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

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

The Dragons enter the field aware that only a victory will allow them to regain the comfortable seven-point lead over the second-placed Sporting, who, on Friday, hosted and defeated Casa Pia 3-0. There is also a sense of 'revenge' in the air, after having 'fallen' precisely against this opponent 1-3 on their way to winning the League Cup.

Italian coach Francesco Farioli has reasons to smile, as he received a 'significant reinforcement' the day before: Francisco Moura was deemed recovered from a left adductor muscle injury and is available to join the squad for this trip to Guimarães.

The mission, however, promises to be difficult, as the Vimaranense team boasts a series 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 the seventh position, with 25 points, and is aware that only by 'putting the pedal to the metal' will they be able to stay in the fight for places 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 start at 8:30 PM (Continental Portugal time) and will be officiated by João Gonçalves from the Porto Football Association, with assistants Pedro Ribeiro and Ângelo Carneiro, fourth referee Bruno Costa, VAR Tiago Martins, and AVAR Pedro Felisberto.

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