Porto take on the visitors Gil Vicente in the round 1 match of Liga Portugal. The match will be played on Saturday, August 10th at Estádio do Dragão (Porto).
Porto have been playing under the guidance of Sérgio Conceição for several years, achieving certain successes, including in the 2023/2024 season. Notably, they won the Portuguese Cup and reached the knockout stages of the Champions League, where they were eliminated by Arsenal after exchanging narrow victories and losing in a penalty shootout. However, in the Primeira Liga, they failed to win the trophy for the second consecutive season and fell hopelessly behind the two Lisbon giants, Sporting and Benfica. As a result, the new president, Villas-Boas, quickly parted ways with Sérgio, replacing him with Vítor Bruno Fernandes. The squad also saw changes: Mehdi Taremi left for Inter on a free transfer, and others are rumored to be on their way out. The new coach's debut match was against Sporting in the Super Cup. It seemed that the champions had crushed their old rivals by scoring three goals. But perhaps the Lions relaxed too soon, and the Dragões mounted a comeback, equalizing by the 66th minute, and Jaime scored the winning goal in extra time.
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Gil Vicente maintain a certain standard. The Roosters were controversially relegated from the Primeira Liga but returned through non-sporting means. Since then, they’ve proven they belong, stabilizing at a familiar level and even finishing fifth in 2022, qualifying for the Conference League. However, that was an exception, and it was no surprise that they only managed a 12th-place finish last season. Fans are hopeful that Tóze Marreco, a relatively intriguing, though not widely known, coach, will bring progress. However, the squad hasn't seen significant strengthening, despite a few signings.
The Dragons have won only half of their last six encounters with Gil Vicente. In February of last year, they even lost 1-2 at home at the Estádio do Dragão. After such a comeback victory over Sporting, the Dragons should be riding high. We believe they will start their home season with a win, covering a -2.0 goal handicap.
Prediction for the match: Porto to win with -2.0 handicap.
