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Vitoria de Guimaraes
PortoPorto arrive in Guimaraes with a perfect record and a point to prove. The question every punter is asking is simple: can Vitoria do what no one else has managed this season and take something off the league leaders, or will the Dragons just keep rolling? Vitoria have shown genuine defensive improvement in recent weeks, and they tend to be a different animal on their own patch, so there is at least a conversation to be had here. Let me break it all down.
This is a Primeira Liga fixture played at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes, one of Portuguese football’s most atmospheric grounds. Porto arrive as overwhelming favourites and league leaders, while Vitoria will be desperate to give their home supporters something to shout about against the division’s standout side so far this term.
Vitoria are carrying a few injury concerns heading into this one, and with Porto’s firepower, the gaffer cannot afford too many gaps in the back line.
Porto also have a few absentees but nothing that disrupts their best starting eleven in any meaningful way.
Vitoria boss Margarido looks set to stick with the settled shape that earned back to back clean sheets. If Balieiro cannot go, Toni Borevkovic and Ahmed Sidibe continue as the central defensive pairing, which has looked more composed recently. Furtado starts in goal, and Jakupovic will carry the responsibility of trying to threaten Porto on the counter.
Vitoria expected XI: Furtado; Strata, Borevkovic, Sidibe, Mendes; Nogueira, Mukendi; G Silva, Samu, Camara; Jakupovic
Farioli has a strong squad to pick from and very little reason to rotate after a 4-1 Champions League win midweek. Gabri Veiga is in outstanding form right now and will be central to everything Porto do going forward. The debate up front is whether Samu Aghehowa, who came off the bench to score from the spot against Napoli, can dislodge Andre Silva, though Farioli may stick with what he knows given the fixture.
Porto expected XI: D Costa; A Costa, Bednarek, Kiwior, Fernandes; G Veiga, Rosario, Froholdt; Sainz, Samu, Pepe
Porto’s form is quite simply extraordinary. Ten league games, ten wins, 30 points from 30. Their attacking numbers are fierce, with 25 goals scored in the top flight, putting them second only to Benfica in the division for firepower. But it is the defensive side of the game that really stands out. Only four goals conceded across ten matches, joint best in the league alongside a joint high six clean sheets. This is not a side that is nicking one nil victories through luck. They are dominant at both ends, and they backed that up midweek by taking Napoli apart in the Champions League. That 4-1 win came after a 4-0 league hammering of Estoril. The momentum is very real.
Vitoria’s form tells a very different story, though there are some encouraging threads buried in it. After just one win from their opening eight league fixtures and a five match winless run, they have steadied somewhat. A cup win over Lamelas was followed by a 5-0 demolition of Maritimo, which was an eye opener, and then a goalless draw at Gil Vicente last weekend that at least gave them their first away point of the campaign. Two wins, three draws and five defeats from ten games has them sitting 13th on nine points, which is a long way off the European picture.
The key detail is where Vitoria pick up their points. Eight of their nine league points have come at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques. They are a genuinely different side at home, the crowd gets behind them, the pitch suits their style, and opponents can find it a hostile environment. Their defensive improvement under Furtado is worth noting too. Three competitive games without conceding is not nothing, even if the opposition quality in that run was not exactly top drawer. Porto will be the stiffest examination of that run by a considerable distance.
This is where the stats really tell a story in Porto’s favour. The Dragons have won each of their last eight competitive meetings with Vitoria at the Estadio D. Afonso Henriques. Eight in a row on the road to the same opponent is a remarkable run, and to add to that, Porto have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three visits to this ground. That is a genuinely significant pattern when you are trying to work out how this one plays out.
Vitoria have simply not been able to crack Porto at home in a very long time, and given the gap in quality and form between the two sides right now, there is nothing in the recent evidence to suggest that changes on this occasion.
Porto look nailed on to win this one, and the value question is really about the nature of the victory. Vitoria’s defensive improvement has been real but limited in terms of the quality they have faced. Porto’s relentless attack, led by two five goal scorers in Veiga and Sainz, is on a different level to anything Vitoria have dealt with recently. The away clean sheet is genuinely in play given the head to head record, though Vitoria at home in front of their own fans will give it a go. The smart money is on Porto to win comfortably without too much drama.
Vitoria are going to need to put in some aggressive defensive work to have any chance of staying in this, and you would expect a few niggly fouls as Porto look to pick them apart. A game involving a team under pressure at home against a dominant leader tends to produce a moderate card count. Expect somewhere in the region of three to four bookings, with Vitoria’s midfield likely to pick up the bulk of them.
This is a tricky one. Porto’s last three visits here all ended without Vitoria scoring, and the hosts have been blunt in front of goal all season with just 10 league strikes in 10 games. Jakupovic is their best hope of nicking one, but Porto’s back four has been miserly all term. The lean towards No on BTTS looks solid, with Porto shutting Vitoria out again the more likely outcome.
A 1-0 Porto away win is the call here. It fits the head to head pattern, it fits Porto’s ability to grind out results even when not at full throttle, and Vitoria’s improved defensive shape means Porto might not run riot the way they did against Estoril. A single goal win keeps the unbeaten run going without the scoreline needing to be a cricket score.
Porto dominate the ball, attack with pace down both flanks through Sainz and Fernandes, and are relentless in pushing forward. Vitoria will sit deep and invite pressure for large stretches, which naturally generates corners. Porto should be racking up the set piece opportunities throughout. Over 9.5 corners for the match looks a reasonable shout, with Porto taking the lion’s share.
| Market | Selection |
|---|---|
| Match Result | Porto to Win |
| Both Teams To Score | No |
| Corners | Over 9.5 Total Corners |
Porto’s dominance, their clean sheet pedigree at this ground, and their tendency to pin teams back and generate corners all point in the same direction and reinforce each other nicely in one bet builder.
Vitoria will make a game of this in the first half, the crowd will be up for it, and there will be a spell where you wonder if Porto are about to drop their first points of the season. But Farioli’s side have shown all term that they know how to manage matches and find a way. Gabri Veiga in this kind of form is unplayable on his day, and the head to head record at this venue is impossible to ignore.
Porto grind out a 1-0 win, extend their unbeaten start to eleven games, and head back to Porto with the title race looking very much like a one horse race at this stage of the season. Vitoria’s defensive improvement earns them some credit, but ultimately it is not enough to stop the juggernaut.
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