Palmeiras – Porto

Palmeiras and Porto are unlikely to hang on for a draw

On Monday night, 16 June, Palmeiras will play against Porto in the Club World Cup. Bookmakers give almost equal odds. Al Ahli and Inter Miami will also play in this group. That is Palmeiras and Porto can not just make it to the playoffs, but are the favourites of the quartet. Palmeiras has a slight advantage here. In Brazil, the season is in full swing: the team played with mixed success in May, but in several tournaments. There were matches in the championship, the Brazilian Cup and the Libertadores Cup. Palmeiras played ten games and registered eight victories. The composition of the team is very powerful, even by the standards of European football. Still will play with Estevao in the lineup. The main young talent of Brazilian football has already been sold to Chelsea, but the Londoners kindly allowed the player to stay at the local club for the duration of the World Cup. Still, he will definitely be in the line-up at Palmeiras. In addition to Estevao, there are a few familiar names for fans of European football. Centre forward Vitor Roque will also play. The forward has not established himself at Barcelona. Palmeiras has no obvious statistical trends, but the team doesn't concede that much. In ten matches only five goals. Porto finished the season very unsuccessfully. The club finished only third in its league, did not reach the final and in cup tournaments. Porto continue to co-operate with Argentine Martin Anselmi. He was not appointed until January 2025. Porto's main striking force during the season was the young Spanish talent Samu Agehova. The dark-skinned striker scored 19 goals in the league alone. Porto fell behind Benfica and Sporting. It is possible that the team is highly overrated in the Club World Cup. The departure of attacking star Galeno to Al-Hilal also had a negative impact. There is no adequate replacement for the player yet. Porto's squad is more expensive than Palmeiras' at the current transfer value. It is the deep roster that is the advantage of the Dragons. It is logical to assume an even match and an exchange of goals. It makes no sense for the teams to hold on for a draw. They can afford to play in an open style, given that they will be favourites in other matches. At the same time, it is on totals there is no tendency to top meetings. For example, the Portuguese did not break the total more than 3 in eight matches out of ten. Palmeiras had only one game with three goals or more in ten meetings. That is, the teams know how to act in cold blood. In any case, it is not very logical to project events from domestic tournaments to the Club World Cup - here they should act more boldly.