Palmeiras take on the visitors Porto in the round 1 match of FIFA Club World Cup. The match will be played on Monday, June 16th at MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, NJ).
Palmeiras continue to chase success on all fronts. Verdão always aim for the highest possible goals, and under their current manager they’ve achieved plenty. However, 2024 was not their finest year — although they did win the Campeonato Paulista (never an easy feat), they narrowly lost the Serie A title race to Botafogo in a tense, season-long battle. The Portuguese coach kept his job, and his side have looked dominant in the Copa Libertadores, winning all six group-stage matches. They’ve also progressed comfortably in the domestic cup after a convincing win over Ceará. Still, there were setbacks: they lost the Paulista final to Corinthians (0-1 and 0-0 across two legs), and recent defeats to Flamengo and Cruzeiro saw them surrender their lead in the Serie A standings. The pressure is back on to regain momentum — and a high-profile international fixture like this could be the spark they need.
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Porto had been alternating league titles in Portugal, but last season they slipped to third place, finishing well behind their eternal Lisbon rivals, Benfica and Sporting. The underachievement led to a major shake-up at the top — with André Villas-Boas winning the presidential election and beginning his term with a dramatic 4-3 Super Cup win over Sporting. However, their European campaign ended early, with Roma knocking them out of the Europa League in February’s playoff round. Domestically, they faded again in the Primeira Liga title race and suffered early exits in both cup competitions — including a shock November defeat to Moreirense. A managerial change didn’t shift the trajectory much — Anselmi at least held off Braga, but still finished nine points behind second-placed Benfica. A win over Palmeiras wouldn’t change the season’s narrative, but could restore some pride and optimism heading into a new cycle.
Despite sharing a language, these clubs from Brazil and Portugal have never met before — this will be their first-ever encounter. Expectations are modest for this friendly, but both sides have attacking talent. Back over 2.0 goals total.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.0 scored goals.
