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Gil was the first to defeat Porto in the last 103 league games

Besides the uncomfortable tradition by which Porto celebrate in all of the 19 home games, the guests are faced with the absence of their center back duo

Five clubs had maximum six points after the first two rounds, but only Porto stayed at the maximum after three rounds. They expect to continue with this rhythm today when hosting Gil Vicente, the only team that defeated Porto in the past 103 league games, so the "Dragons" do not need any extra motive for todays game. Besides the large difference in quality, Porto also has the tradition on their side, as they have won all of the 19 home games. Despite all of this, Paulo Fonseca calls for caution and warns that there is no time for relaxation:

-They already have two wins, which will boost their morale. They have improved compared to last season, so we have an obligation to avoid relaxing since I don't believe in easy games.


Porto, like their main rival Benfica, has managed to keep all of their top players at the end of the transfer window. Because of the large competition in the club, they had to loan out several players, as for todays game, there will be no absences, since all the players have come back from their international commitments in good condition. In the last round, after 3 official games in which they scored three goals each, they won against Pacos with a minimum score. The win could have been more convincing if Jackson Martinez scored in stoppage time when facing the goalie in a 1 on 1.


Six points from three games allows the away team to come to Dragao without pressure. Even though everyone will say that they were unlucky against Benfica, since they were ahead all the way up to injury time, it is also very likely that even they don't know how they managed to grab six points in games against Academica, where they were a player down for almost the whole second half, and against Braga, where they were able to score the winning goal with two players sent off. The one most responsible for the six points is surely the goalie, Adriano Facchini, who is among the best rated players in the league after three rounds.



Joao de Deus has also had a great start to his debut season, and before the away game against Porto he stated:


-We have a tough game ahead of us against the current champion who is always highly motivated and has a team capable of throwing any opponent of balance during the crucial moments of the match. Therefore, there will be times when we will have to defend closer to our goal, however when there is a chance for it, we will try to establish our game and destabilize the oponent.


The guests are missing their center back duo, so Joao de Deus will have to look for other options. As a possible candidate, Pecks, a player from Cape Verde has put himself up front stating that he is the best center back in the league. When asked who is the best center back in the league, he replied:


- I am. Gil Vicente is looking good and we will put an end to Porto's winning streak.


Pecks could not ask for a better chance to show his qualities, since the "Roosters" could get burnt on their away game against the "Dragons", whom defeated them in the past 19 games on their turf, and who only conceded 1 goal in the last five of those games. Last seasons the score was 5-0, and Porto was completely dominant in every aspect. The guest team did not manage to make even one shot towards Helton, something that also happened during the surprise 0-0 draw at Barcelos last year in the first round.

It is a well known fact that Porto is the dominating force in the Portuguese league, as evidenced by only one defeat in their last 103 league games. Their home record is one of the best in Europe because they have not been defeated at the Dragao since 2008. Last season their home record stood at 14-1-0, with a goal difference of 38:5. They opened their account for the new season in the same fashion, with a convincing 3-0 win over Maritimo, which could have been even better if Porto had converted a few more of the great number of chances they created. Paulo Fonseca has the complete team at his disposal today, unlike the visitors' coach, a debutant in the first division, who will have to do without four players. Two of those four are the starting centre backs, so he needs to find how to replace the experienced duo. Last season, albeit in this calendar year, Porto won 5-0 at home after dominating throughout the match, which resulted in over 20 shots on Gil's goal and having 75% of the ball. The guests didn't get a single shot on Helton's goal in both last season games. Porto were impressive during the preseason, as well in the first three official games. They scored 3 goals in each of those games, but they came a bit short in their last game. Tonight, they will surely do better and the worst case scenario is that we get our stake back because even Gil Vicente's starting eleven wouldn't leave the Dragao with less than a 2 goal loss. So this is a "win or void" situation we have here.