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

The D. Afonso Henriques Stadium will be, at the start of the evening this Sunday, the stage for the most anticipated duel of the 18th round of the Primeira Liga (the first of the second half), which pits the newly crowned winter champion, Vitória SC, against the leading team on the table, 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', after having 'fallen' to this very opponent 1-3 on their way to winning the League Cup.

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

The mission, however, promises to be difficult, because 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 its 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 the spots granting access to European competitions, in a championship where Gil Vicente continues to establish itself 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.