Porto will host Olhanense on Sunday, giving them a very good chance of keeping the top spot in the Portuguese League. The visitors are just two points clear of the relegation zone, making this match important, despite them having a slim chance of claiming any points.
Overall, Manuel Cajuda's Olhanense side only has three victories in the current campaign. The Portuguese manager did not start the season with the Olhao Lions, but since his arrival, things have not really changed.
Without a win in 2013, Olhanense does not look set to change that on Sunday. Playing against Porto is hard enough, playing against them at the Estadio do Dragao makes things even more difficult. The Dragoes have not lost this season, and at home, they are perfect with nine wins in just as many matches.
We also can not forget to mention the fact that Vitor Pereira's side has only conceded one goal on their home turf.
Olhanense's Tiago Targino does not really care about how many goals Porto has conceded. He is determined to score at the Estadio do Dragao on Sunday.
"It will be difficult to score, but I am going to try and take advantage of any opportunities I get, knowing that we are going to play against a great goalie and a very strong defense," said Targino ahead of Sunday's match.
Having already scored against Benfica and Sporting at their home stadiums, Targino has yet to score against Porto at the Estadio do Dragao.
"Their is always a first time for everything. Since I feel well, I need to have hope," he said in reference to scoring on Sunday.
Although Olhanense has yet to win in 2013, Porto manager Vitor Pereira believes that the visitors could cause them problems on Sunday.
"Olhanense caused us a lot of problems in the first match this season and last season at the Dragao as well," said the Porto manager.
"They are a team that I had the opportunity to watch this past weekend, a team with a lot of speed in their offense, and they will be coming to the Dragao looking to take advantage of that speed."
The hosts continue to show their good form as they battle for the top spot with Lisbon side Benfica. The only thing separating the two at the moment is a better goal difference for the Dragoes. A match at home against Olhanense should give Porto a chance to extend that positive goal difference.
Previous Matches
09-01-12 Olhanense 2-3 Porto
03-31-12 Porto 2-0 Olhanense
11-05-11 Olhanense 0-0 Porto
02-06-11 Olhanense 0-3 Porto
09-25-10 Porto 2-0 Olhanense
03-06-10 Porto 2-2 Olhanense
Prediction
Porto fans, the Porto players, the Olhanense players, heck, mostly everyone knows that the chances of Olhanense grabbing a point on Sunday are just as good as them winning the title. While they could somehow, someway win the title years down the road, it is probable that it would not happen.
On Sunday, they more than likely will not be able to grab a point. Manuel Cajuda will make sure to tell his players that they realistically have nothing to lose. They have been unable to win a match in 2013, so no one will expect them to win on Sunday, allowing them to play with less pressure.
Cajuda mentioned how playing against a team like Porto would give his team a chance to bring out their creativity, knowing that they do not have much to lose.
Given Porto's current form, especially at home, Olhanense could be in serious trouble. The fact that the hosts have only conceded one goal should be a very concerning factor for Manuel Cajuda's side.
Olhanense does not score many goals, and from all their visits to the city of Porto, they have conceded 96 goals while only scoring 22. That is all in a total of 21 matches, so things do not look good for the visitors. Porto is averaging approximately 4 goals against Olhanense per game at home.
The closest thing to a victory for Olhanense would be keeping a clean-sheet in the first half, but even that does not look very promising. They will play in a very defensive way, looking for players like Tiago Targino to use their speed on the counter-attack. The only problem with that is the fact that Porto tends to keep the ball extremely well at home, limiting Olhanense's chances.
Porto will more than likely win this match, but by how many? Knowing that goal difference is extremely important at this stage of the season, the hosts will want to make sure they continue to score while keeping Olhanense off the board, which they have managed to do very well at home.
Porto 3-0 Olhanense
