Our prediction for this Portugal Primeira Liga match:
Estadio D. Afonso Henriques will be the centre of attention when Vitoria Guimaraes and Porto square off against each other in a highly-anticipated Primeira Liga game. Guimaraes made a flying start to the season, with the team recording three wins and one defeat and, no doubt, they are capable of making life difficult for the Dragons on home soil. Tomas Ribeiro is widely expected to return to the starting XI, whilst Jorge Fernandes remains in the treatment room.
Porto, on the other hand, quickly bounce back from a heart-breaking loss to Sporting CP, with the team registering a hard-fought 2-1 win over Farense, but beating the high-flying hosts at “Afonso Henriques” is easier said than done. Taking everything into account, we believe that there is a big value in betting on draw. Both Fabio Vieira and Ivan Marcano are out of contention with injuries for the away team.
Highlighted Player (Pepe):
Pepe is a professional footballer who plays for Porto as a defender. The Portuguese international played for Maritimo at the start of his senior career and in 2004 he moved to Porto. After making 64 league appearances for the Dragons, he signed a contract with Real Madrid in 2007 and he quickly established himself as a first-team regular.
Pepe is well known for his hard tackles and referees often show him red card. The Real Madrid centre back often played as a defensive midfielder under Jose Mourinho and it has to be noted that he scored five goals in all competitions in the 2013/2014 La Liga campaign.
The Portuguese footballer won his second Champions League trophy with Real Madrid in the 2015/2016 season and later in 2016 he helped A Selecao win the European Championship trophy. Portugal defeated France in the title game and Pepe played an important role in Fernando Santos’ team in the Euro 2016 final. The Real Madrid defender was born in Maceio, Brazil on 26 February, 1983.
Highlighted Team (Porto):
Futebol Clube do Porto are one of Portugal’s biggest football clubs playing their matches in front of 50,000 people at their Estadio do Dragao. Porto form biggest rivalries with two other Big Three clubs in Portugal and regular league title contenders – Benfica and Sporting CP. Rivalries between the clubs stem from the historical, political, economical and cultural discrepancies between the cities of Porto and Lisbon. The Dragons, as they are commonly known in Portugal, are the second most successful Portuguese team with a total of 74 trophies to their name.
Porto hold a record of five consecutive league titles which are part of the total tally of 27 Primeira Liga trophies. FC Porto’s success extends to the international scene as well with seven European titles. Two-time European champions from 1987 and 2004, Porto also won two UEFA Cup/Europa League titles, the UEFA Super Cup and the International Cup on two occasions. Together with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United, Porto have the most appearances in the UEFA Champions League group stage – the total of 20.