Porto carry a 2-1 advantage into the second leg of their Taca de Portugal semi-final showdown against Sporting on Thursday night.
The two sides played out the first leg in early March. Pablo Sarabia put Sporting ahead before Mehdi Taremi and Evanilson turned things around in the second half.
Preparados, Dragões?🐉🐉🔜 Segunda mão da meia-final da Taça de Portugal 🔵⚪#FCPorto #FCPSCP #TaçadePortugal pic.twitter.com/H1SUmsMigx— FC Porto (@FCPorto) April 20, 2022
Preparados, Dragões?🐉🐉🔜 Segunda mão da meia-final da Taça de Portugal 🔵⚪#FCPorto #FCPSCP #TaçadePortugal pic.twitter.com/H1SUmsMigx
In the first leg, both teams enjoyed their fair share of possession (Sporting 47% - Porto 53%) and also registered three shots on target apiece.
The rivals are separated by nine points in the Primeira Liga standings, with first-place Porto leading second-place Sporting.
Porto head into the second leg on a six-game winning streak in all competitions. Better still, they have lost just one of their previous 25 outings.
Remarkably, the Dragons remain unbeaten in the Primeira Liga this season – having won 26 and drawn four of their 30 clashes.
Not only are Porto the top scorers in Portugal’s top tier (79), but they also boast the best defensive record in the division (19).
When it comes to the Taca de Portugal, the Dragons have secured five straight wins and have lost just one of their previous 11 encounters in the cup.
Meanwhile, Sporting come into Thursday’s clash on the back of a disappointing 2-0 defeat to arch-rivals Benfica.
Last weekend's loss ended a six-game unbeaten streak across all competitions for Sporting, which saw them pick up five wins and a draw one draw.
The Lions have lost just three of their Primeira Liga clashes this season, picking up 23 wins and four draws along the way.
In the Taca de Portugal, Sporting kicked off their campaign with four straight wins before losing to Porto in the first leg.
Head-to-head: Sporting have failed to win any of their previous four meetings with Porto across all competitions.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Lions have won just one of their past 12 meetings with the Dragons.
Team news: Porto look set to be without the injured pair of Wilson Manafa (patella rupture) and Mateus Uribe (muscle injury) on Thursday.
As for Sporting, head coach Ruben Amorim has a full-strength squad at his disposal following multiple injury recoveries within the camp.
Given that Porto have suffered a solitary defeat in their previous 12 meetings with Sporting, the Dragons are expected to dispatch the Lions on Thursday.
Forebet predicts that Porto will score over 1.5 goals on their way to victory, booking their spot in the Taca de Portugal final.