In the last fixture of the 2021-22 campaign in Portugal, Porto take on Tondela in the Taca de Portugal final at the National Sports Center Jamor on Sunday.
This will be the third appearance in the last four years in the final for Porto, who have won the competition 17 times. Tondela have made it to the final of the cup competition for the first time in their history.
Porto overcame the challenge of arch-rivals Sporting in the semi-final, defeating the Lisbon giants 3-1 on aggregate. Tondela faced a comparatively weaker set of opponents in their run to the final and defeated second-tier side Mafra 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
Porto vs Tondela Head-to-Head
This will be the 16th meeting between the two sides across all competitions. Dragões have dominated the proceedings against their southern rivals, with 13 wins. Tondela have just one win to their name while one game ended in a draw.
The two sides have locked horns just once in a Taca de Portugal fixture, with that meeting coming in the fourth round last season. Porto came out on top with a 2-1 win.
Porto are on a 12-game winning streak against Tondela at the moment and have scored two or more goals in their last eight encounters against the Auriverdes.
They last met in a league fixture in March at the Estadio do Dragao, with the then-hosts securing a comfortable 4-0 win.
Porto form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-L-W
Tondela form guide (all competitions): D-L-D-D-D
Porto vs Tondela Team News
Porto
Wilson Manafá and Matheus Uribe were the two absentees for the training sessions for the game and will likely be sidelined here.
Injury: Wilson Manafa.
Suspension: None.
Doubtful: Matheus Uribe.
Unavailable: None.
Tondela
Jota Gonçalves is the only absentee for Tondela ahead of the showdown against the Porto giants after being ruled out for the remainder of the season with a serious knee injury last year.
Simone Muratore was absent from Tondela's final league game against Boavista and his involvement here remains doubtful.
Injuries: Jota Goncalves
Doubtful: Simone Muratore
Suspension: None
Unavailable: None.
Porto vs Tondela Predicted XIs
Porto (4-4-2): Diogo Costa (GK); Zaid Sanusi, Chancel Mbemba, Pepe, Joao Mario; Fabio Vieira, Stephen Eustaquio, Vitinha, Otavio; Evanilson, Mehdi Taremi.
Tondela (3-5-2): Babacar Niasse (GK); Modibo Sagnan, Eduardo Quaresma, Jose Hernando; Neto Borges, Tiago Almeida, João Pedro, Pedro Augusto, Bebeto; Rafael Barbosa, Salvador Agra
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Porto vs Tondela Prediction
Porto have been dominant in domestic competitions this season and won the Primeira Liga earlier this month. Tondela, on the other hand, were relegated to the second division after failing to secure a win against Boavista.
In the cup, Porto have scored 19 goals so far and have conceded just three times. While Tondela's attacking record pales in comparison to their northern rivals with 13 goals, defensively they have posted comparable stats, conceding just four goals in six games.
The game provides Tondela with an opportunity to redeem themselves after failing to retain their top-flight status. Porto will be keen on completing a domestic double with a victory in this competition and should be able to easily record a win here.
Prediction: Porto 3-1 Tondela