Our prediction for this Portugal Primeira Liga match:
Nacional
Match Time & Date:
03/01/2025
19:00
Prediction: 0-2
Porto
Porto will look to extend their winning run to five games in all competitions when they take on Nacional on Matchday 17. The Dragons rolled over Boavista 4-0 at the weekend to overtake their bitter rivals Benfica in second place, but they do not want to stop now. Vitor Bruno’s men have a chance to climb to top position in the Primeira Liga standings, but they will have to do it without suspended midfielder Nico.
The hosts, on the other hand, aim to recover from a 2-1 loss to Rio Ave, but given their negative head-to-head record against Porto, anything but a routine away win would be a big surprise. There are no fresh injury worries in the home team, but both Baeza and Thomas remain doubtful. In their last meeting in Madeira, Porto defeated Nacional 1-0, with new Inter attacker Mehdi Taremi scoring the only goal of the match.
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 (Nacional):
Nacional is a Portuguese football club based in Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Nacional compete in Primeira Liga, with the team hosting their rivals at Estadio de Madeira. The stadium was opened in the winter of 1998, and it can hold no more than 5,132 spectators.
Nacional is one of the oldest clubs in Portugal as it was founded back in 1910. Los Alvinegros are well known for their white shirts with black stripes, with the team wearing yellow jerseys when playing on the road. Nacional have great rivalry with neighbouring club Maritimo, with the two clubs facing each other in the Madeira derby. Los Alvinegros have won AF Madeira Cup on six occasions (1943/44, 1944/45, 1973,74, 1974/75, 2001/02, 2007/08).
The 2003/04 campaign is considered the most successful season in the history of Nacional as they finished the process in the 4th position in the standings. As a result, they booked their place in the UEFA Cup. In the 2009/10 season Nacional participated in the Europa League group stages, facing the like of Athletic Club, Austria Wien, and Werder Bremen in Group L.
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