Santa Clara - FC Porto predictions and free betting tips [07/02/2024]

The Portuguese Second League's leader, football club "Santa Clara", will host "Porto", currently ranked third in the Primeira Liga and showing a risky play this season, in the national cup's quarterfinals. The match will unfold at the "San Miguel" stadium, located in Ponta Delgada, which will undoubtedly be packed to the rafters, as the local "Azorean" supporters have likely missed witnessing major confrontations in the Azores region.

Santa Clara

Under the leadership of Vasco Matos, the team is determined to return to the Primeira Liga, and the prospects for this are present. It's clear that the Second League suits "Santa Clara" just fine. In the long run, the club from Ponta Delgada might successfully retain their top spot in the league table and advance directly into Primeira.

This season, "Santa Clara" had a rather disappointing start, losing to "Tondela" in the Portuguese league cup qualification, but thereafter, the team under Vasco Matos, who had joined last summer to attune the team's performance and secure a ticket into the Primeira, picked up the pace. Their three-defender tactics have been working effectively for the "Azoreans" under Matos, thanks to which "Santa Clara" has shown good form in the current Second League season and has been advancing in the national cup matches. Although the secondary tournament proved to be challenging since "Santa Clara" played all three rounds before the quarterfinals in the 120-minute format, and two of them ended up in a penalty shoot-out. Surely, Matos managed to utilise a one-and-a-half roster, with a limited number of reserves, yet I suspect they will bring their leading players on from the first minutes against "Porto".

In terms of player selection, "Santa Clara" is facing no fundamental problems. They have the second goalkeeper, Marcos Dias, who defended impeccably in two penalty series in the Portuguese Cup. Nonetheless, Gabriel Batista, regarded as Matos' No.1 keeper, is expected to step in against "Porto". Regarding field players, there are questions about "Santa Clara's" attack, where players are being rotated frequently. For instance, Bruno Almeida leads the team's top scorer list, yet he does not always feature in the starting line-up. In his stead, Brazilian forward Alisson Safira, who was recently purchased from "Vitoria Guimaraes" for half a million euros, pops up. Let's see how Vinicius Lopez performs against "Porto", he definitely showed promising performance in the previous couple of games.

Despite "Santa Clara" striving to play proactively in their championship, applying the 3-4-3 formation, it is not the most scoring team with a potent attack. If they manage to show competent defence against "Porto", they stand a chance of pushing the cup match into extra time again. From there on, they could attempt to overpower the outstanding opponent via a penalty shootout, especially given "Santa Clara" is no stranger to resorting to it.

Porto

Porto are participating in convenient competitions this season, as they strive to succeed in all tournaments. Sometimes, they display strengths, while at other moments, we witness the team's flaws under Sergio Conceicao.

They were knocked out from the League Cup, losing the top spot in the group to "Estoril", however, they encountered no troubles in the Portuguese Cup. Porto is also a Champions League play-off participant, where "Arsenal" waits for them in the 1/8 final.

Conceicao's players have been experiencing a highly nervous season in the national championship. Competitors seem to be preferable in the long-distance race for the top spot in the league table. Furthermore, Porto lost to both Lisbon teams in personal meetings and messed up in a few ordinary matches. Subsequently, this led the "blue and whites" to hold the third place, falling behind the leader by two-winning games.

Porto has a roster of players who can contest for the Portuguese Cup trophy: however, following the draw with "Rio Ave" in the Primeira Liga, they need to tread carefully in the upcoming league matches to avoid similar declines. For the game against "Santa Clara", Sergio Conceicao will likely opt for minimal rotation. For instance, I expect to see the backup goalkeeper Claudio Ramos start the match, and Pepe might surely get a break. Despite everyone's confidence in his physical abilities, it is crucial to ensure his excellent form in the forthcoming championship matches and in 1/8 finals against "Arsenal".

Conceicao's team, undoubtedly, will not aim to crush "Santa Clara" outright, yet they need a victory for a full-time outcome so that Porto's primary squad does not lose their edge before the upcoming games on the schedule.

Match prediction: Santa Clara - Porto

I will place my bet handicap 2 (-1,5). Santa Clara will certainly not try to play too boldly. On the contrary, the 3:4:3 formation may easily turn into 5:2:3 or even with a solitary striker up front. For Porto, the task is to achieve a victory in an economical mode and to prepare further for the Champions League.