Porto Faces Maritimo After Perfect Seven Game Start

FC Porto travels to Madeira to face Maritimo on October 10 in Matchday 8 of the 2026-27 Liga Portugal season, seeking to extend its perfect league record after defeating Benfica 3-1. The leaders have won all seven matches, while the promoted hosts are looking to end a five-game winless run at Estadio dos Barreiros. According to beIN SPORTS, Porto sits atop the standings with 21 points, having scored 18 goals and conceded three.

Maritimo occupies 11th place with eight points from seven matches, recording two wins, two draws and three defeats since returning to the Portuguese top flight. The matchup follows contrasting recent results. Porto secured an important victory over Benfica in O Clássico, while Maritimo drew 1-1 away against Gil Vicente after conceding an early goal and equalizing in stoppage time.

Gabri Veiga opened the scoring for Porto against Benfica before Alexander Bah brought the visitors level. Victor Froholdt restored Porto's lead, and substitute Hwang In-Beom completed the 3-1 victory.

Maritimo earned promotion after winning the 2025-26 Liga Portugal 2 title. However, its return to the top division has included a difficult recent stretch, with the draw against Gil Vicente extending its winless league run to five matches. Porto's preparations have also been complicated by fitness concerns and international commitments, according to beIN SPORTS in its October 6 report. Coach Francesco Farioli oversaw a closed training session at the Jorge Costa Training and Sports Development Centre in Olival while several first-team players followed modified programs.

João Costa, Nehuén Pérez, Martim Fernandes, Zaidu Sanusi, Seko Fofana, Vasco Sousa, Gabri Veiga and André Miranda were among those managing fitness issues. Nine players were also away on international duty, including Diogo Costa, Jan Bednarek, Jakub Kiwior, Victor Froholdt, Pablo Rosario, Inbeom Hwang and Santiago Giménez, along with João Afonso and Dominik Prpic. The international players were expected to return on Thursday, leaving limited time for the full squad to prepare before the weekend fixture. Farioli therefore brought in 10 players from Porto's B team to supplement training.

Among those involved were Gabriel Veron, who returned after several loan spells, and Tiago Ferreira, a 33-year-old center back whose spell with Paços de Ferreira had ended. Gonçalo Ribeiro, Antoni Nikolov, António Ribeiro, Luís Gomes, Yoan Pereira, Tiago Silva, João Teixeira, Kauê Rodrigues and Under-19 midfielder João Abreu also participated. The October 10 fixture is scheduled to kick off at 13:00 ET, or 9:00 PT. Maritimo will attempt to improve its league position against a Porto side that enters Matchday 8 with the maximum 21 points available from its opening seven matches.