THE FC Porto travels, on Saturday night, to the Rio Ave stronghold to play the 2nd round of the I League, trying to avoid a possible eclipse in Arcos – in a week where all eyes focused on the sky.
Despite starting the new season with two victories, the national champion is far from impressive in offensive terms and will face an always difficult trip to Vila do Conde.
Historically, FC Porto has a positive result whenever they face Rio Ave as visitors, but in recent years they have shown some setbacks. For example, the Dragons lost once and drew once in the last five visits to Arcos, a fact that will certainly serve as a warning for Farioli and company.
The Italian coach guarantees, however, that he is confident in the team’s capabilities, at a time when he is still waiting for the arrival of more reinforcements.
On the other side, Rio Ave will be in search of points, after a false start in this new season, with a defeat at Gil Vicente’s stronghold.
The match between Rio Ave and FC Porto is scheduled for 8:30 pm this Saturday and will be refereed by Miguel Fonseca. You will be able to follow, live, the essence of the incidents in the Sport at the Minute.
Coaches in direct speech
Sotiris Silaidopoulos
Identity: “What we want to see is consistency on our side. To be a team with strong values ​​to play the way we want, to be competitive and create as many problems as possible for FC Porto so that we can get something out of the game.”
Adversary: “FC Porto is a great team, with a very strong identity in the way they play, but also with a very strong mentality that makes them special. They will certainly come here to win the three points to continue fighting for the championship.”
Importance of scoring: “It is essential that we are at the same level of aggression from the beginning of the game, from the first minute. We hope and believe that we will be ready for a very good game and an excellent test for us.”
Francesco Farioli
What to expect from Rio Ave: “”It’s one of the teams that continues with the same coach. They finished last season very strong, in the middle of the table, without panic about relegation. They did a good job. We saw some games from this pre-season and against Gil Vicente we saw some changes. They can press differently. It’s a team that has variability and it won’t be easy to play there. We have to pay a lot of attention and commitment to continue our journey.”
Injured: “From a physical point of view, Alan will not be part of the game. He still has a lot of pain in his foot. He will be out. André was on the pitch today and was positive. I believe he will be part of the game, just like Alberto. Oskar, Samu and Cláudio continue to train separately”:
Deniz Gul advances to eleven: “He’s a number 9 and the judgment is made by numbers… He has to gain a certain consistency in the way he plays, because he needs that to improve his level. But I like him a lot. This summer I honestly had a thousand calls for him, from clubs and managers who wanted to know his situation. I have a lot of faith in him.”
Latest results
Rio Ave: D
FC Porto: VV
Last eleven
Rio Ave: Ennio van der Gouw, Andreas Ntoi, Pancho Petrasso, Gustavo Mancha, Nelson Abbey, Georgios Liavas, Diogo Nascimento, Jalen Blesa, Ryan Guilherme, Diogo Bezerra, Roland GalcÃk.
FC Porto: Diogo Costa, Martim Fernandes, Jakub Kiwior, Jan Bednarek, Zaidu Sanusi, Alan Varela, Gabri Veiga, Victor Froholdt, William Gomes, André Silva, Pepê.
Absent
Rio Ave: Cezary Miszta, Ryan Guilherme, Brandon Aguilera, João Tomé (injured), Andreas Ntoi (suspended).
FC Porto: Cláudio Ramos, Alberto Costa, Alan Varela, Vasco Sousa, André Miranda, Oskar Pietuszewski, André Silva and Samu (injured).
