Santa Clara=FC Porto (probable lineups): Borja returns, full stre….

FC Porto closes out the first half of the Liga season this Sunday with a difficult visit to the Azores to face Santa Clara. Maisfutebol will be at the São Miguel Stadium to tell you all about this game that could allow Francesco Farioli’s team to increase their lead over Sporting to seven points.

Watch Santa Clara vs. FC Porto LIVE (6:00 PM)

This presents an opportunity for the league leaders to further widen the gap over their direct rivals, in this case Sporting, who slipped up in Barcelos last Friday. FC Porto could thus finish the first half of the season with seven more points than Sporting and ten more than Benfica.

Francesco Farioli’s preview

Francesco Farioli will not make it easy, especially since, having been eliminated from the League Cup Final Four, he will then have ten days to prepare for the Portuguese Cup quarter-final match against Benfica. Therefore, with Borja Sainz available again after serving a one-match suspension against AVS, the Italian coach should field the best possible FC Porto starting eleven for the game scheduled to kick off at 6:00 PM (Portuguese time).

Diogo Costa, who was substituted at halftime in the game against AVS, is fully recovered and, like Borja Sainz, should also start the game. Otherwise, there is only one doubt in midfield between Alan Varela and Pablo Rosario.

Vasco Matos’s preview

Santa Clara, currently in 13th place, is far from the strength it demonstrated last season, but has already made it clear that it has what it takes to cause problems for the big teams, as happened recently in the double duel with Sporting, for the Cup and the championship.

Out of action is Serginho, who will serve a one-match suspension, as well as MT, who is recovering from injury. Also unavailable is Diogo Calila, who remains with the Mozambique national team at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.