FC Porto visit Académico de Viseu to keep perfect league start | OneFootball

FC Porto travel to the Estádio Municipal do Fontelo in the fourth round of the league season to face Académico de Viseu from 6pm this Saturday (Sport TV1). The National Champions go into this match after three consecutive 2-0 wins, while the newly promoted side began their Liga Portugal 2026/27 campaign with a 2-2 draw against Benfica.

FC Alverca, Rio Ave and FC Arouca were the victims of the Porto side in the opening three rounds, always by the same scoreline. With nine points collected and no goals conceded, FC Porto sit alone at the top, two points ahead of Sporting, Santa Clara and Marítimo. Académico, meanwhile, drew at the Luz and at the Barreiros, both matches ending 2-2, before losing 1-0 at home to the Azorean side.

The match in Viseu therefore promises to be another stern test. FC Porto have not faced Académico in a league match at the Fontelo for almost 40 years. On their most recent league visit, in September 1988, Porto and the Viseu side could not be separated in a goalless draw. The overall record, however, is clearly in favour of the blue and whites, with 13 wins and two draws in 15 meetings.

After several years without meeting, FC Porto and Académico crossed paths again in 2020. Since then, they have played four matches, two in Viseu and two in Invicta. The last clash at the Fontelo came in the quarter-finals of the 2022/23 Portuguese Cup, with the Dragons winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from André Franco. Three years earlier, in 2020, the two teams had drawn 1-1 in the first leg of the semi-finals.

Tickets made available through the bilhetes.fcporto.pt platform sold out within a few hours, and strong support from Porto fans is expected, with the away section dressed in blue and white.

FC Porto

Francesco Farioli is expecting “a very difficult match” against “a team that has already proved its worth”, one that “is brave without the ball and very organised” and that “will give everything to get points”. Despite the respect for the opposition, the National Champions want to extend their perfect run in the league. “We are here to win and we will do everything we can to achieve that.”

After another training session at the CTFD Jorge Costa, the Italian coach received confirmation that Cláudio Ramos and Martim Fernandes, now recovered, are available for the match. Farioli also stressed that the final stretch of the transfer window “cannot take the focus away from the game” against Académico de Viseu, in a match where it will be essential to “attack at the right time, with patience and intensity”.

Samu, Oskar Pietuszewski and Seko Fofana, who recently returned, remain unavailable. For Francesco Farioli, “it would be a huge step to get the result we want” at the Estádio Municipal do Fontelo, although “there are many challenges ahead in a match that will require a lot of attention”. Pleased with what “happened with Nehuén Pérez and now with Borja Sainz”, the coach wants the team to take to the pitch “with the right approach”.

With the transfer market remaining in the spotlight until Friday, 4 September, Francesco Farioli also addressed the matter: “As I’ve already said, we are completely aligned at the Club and what we are going to do in the market depends on various factors and circumstances. As you know, the final days of the window are always hectic and many things can happen.”

Académico

Académico finished the last Segunda Liga season in second place, securing a return to the top flight 37 years later. André Clóvis, the competition’s top scorer with 23 goals, and Soufiane Messeguem, the assists leader with 10, remain in the squad now coached by Bruno Pinheiro, with whom Francesco Farioli worked in Qatar.

Despite the departure of seven players, the Viseu club strengthened the squad with goalkeepers Ewerton (formerly of Barra-SC), Marcos Lavín (formerly of USL Dunkerque) and Juan Soriano (formerly of Leganés), midfielders Andro Babic (formerly of Velez Mostar), Alejandro Mestanza (formerly of Atlético de Madrid) and Cristian Ferreira (formerly of Argentinos Juniors), as well as forwards João Guilherme (formerly of EC Água Santa), Mohamed Bouldini (formerly of RC Deportivo), Valery Fernández (formerly of Real Zaragoza), Álvaro Zamora (formerly of Aris) and Paulinho (formerly of Wieczysta Krakow).

Ewerton, Robinho, Anthony Correia, Soufiane Messeguem, Cihan Kahraman, João Guilherme and André Clóvis were part of Académico’s starting eleven in the opening three rounds. The striker has already scored twice and is among the league’s top finishers.

Refereeing team

Miguel Nogueira, from the Lisbon Football Association, was appointed by the Refereeing Council of the Portuguese Football Federation to officiate the match. The 32-year-old referee will have Paulo Brás and Nuno Pires as assistants, while Ricardo Baixinho will act as fourth official. Pedro Ferreira will be the VAR, with Nuno Eiras as assistant.

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