Preview: Porto vs. Casa Pia - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts are currently in third place in the league standings with 28 points after 12 matches, while the visitors have managed 13 points this term and are in 11th place.

Match preview

Porto got their Taca de Liga campaign underway in midweek, but it turned out to be a losing start as they were undone by Estoril, who took a firm grip on the group standings with a 3-1 victory.

While Sergio Conceicao opted to send out a changed lineup with a big week ahead, there was no lack of experience on the field, but his side came up short as their opponents clinched the win in the dying moments.

Nevertheless, with a do-or-die midweek encounter against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and three points to make up to the league leaders, the domestic cup may be one of the lower priorities for the Porto boss at this moment.

The hosts cruised past Famalicao 3-0 last time out in the league and managed to trim the gap to Benfica to just a single point after The Eagles dropped a couple of points away to Moreirense over the same weekend.

Porto won the previous meeting between these sides at this venue last season and are unbeaten in their last three matches against this opponent, including two wins and a draw.

Meanwhile, Casa Pia managed to claim a much-needed 1-0 win over Portimonense last weekend, snapping up a three-match losing streak in which they failed to score a single goal.

Samuel Justo brought an end to the side's mini-drought with a second-half strike and managed to secure the points after Midana Cassama was sent off late in the day.

Still, with one win in their last seven league matches (W1 D2 L4) and just three points separating them from the drop, Felipe Martins still has a lot of work to do, especially with two of the top four sides to face before Christmas.

The one major positive for The Geese, though, is that they have been very good in defence this season, letting in just 13 goals so far, which is only one more than league leaders Sporting have conceded.

Porto Primeira Liga form:

L

W

W

L

W

W

Porto form (all competitions):

W

W

W

L

W

L

Casa Pia Primeira Liga form:

L

L

D

L

L

W

Casa Pia form (all competitions):

D

D

L

L

L

W

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Team News

Porto have a few injury absentees to contend with in this match, with Samuel Portugal (groin) and Wendell (muscle) still a couple of weeks away from returning to first-team contention.

Gabriel Veron has been suffering from a knock and has been flagged as a doubt, while Ivan Marcano is likely to miss the remainder of the season with an ACL injury.

Casa Pia are set to be without midfielder Kiki Silva for an extended period, while Rafael Brito is a doubt but could still feature in the squad if deemed fit by the medical staff.

Justo's goal against Portimonense will likely have earned him a recall this week, and he is expected to partner with Pablo Roberto in the central midfield pairing.

Porto possible starting lineup:

Costa; Sanchez, Cardoso, Pepe, Mendes; Pepe, Eustaquio, Varela, Galeno; Evanilson, Taremi

Casa Pia possible starting lineup:

Batista; Varela, Fernandes, Zolotic; Lelo, Justo, Roberto, Larrazabal; Dias, Clayton, Soma

We say: Porto 2-1 Casa Pia

History is firmly in favour of Porto in this one. They lost their most recent home game 1-0 to Estoril, and to find the last time that The Dragons were defeated twice in a row on home soil in the top flight, you would need to look back to November 2004. The hosts also have an unbeaten record against this opponent, and we fancy they will keep that intact with another win in this one.

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