Porto vs Nice Prediction: Goals expected at the Dragao

Winners in 2003 and 2011, Porto have made a solid start in the league phase of the 2025/26 Uefa Europa League, taking seven points from their four games. They begin matchday five 14th in the table, and on Thursday (17:45 GMT, TNT Sports 6), they host OGC Nice, at the Estadio do Dragao.

Below are my Porto vs Nice predictions...

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Nice have lost their quartet of fixtures and come into this game on the back of a 5-1 home defeat to Marseille.

By contrast, Porto beat Sintrense 2-0 in the cup, and Francesco Farioli has only lost one of his 18 games in charge since being appointed in the summer, that defeat coming in his team's 2-0 reverse at Nottingham Forest.

Farioli has a history with Nice, guiding them to fifth in Ligue 1 when in charge for one season, 2023/24.

His successor, Franck Haise, went one better last term by taking Les Aiglons to fourth, but they lost home and away to Benfica in the Champions League and have failed to find any rhythm.

Team News

Porto may welcome back defender Jan Bednarek from a knee issue, although Farioli might give him more time off with an eye on Sunday's league visit of Estoril.

Football Odds

Dante, Hicham Boudaoui and Tanguy Ndombele could feature for Nice, although Mohamed Abdelmonem has suffered a setback on his return from an ACL injury.

Porto vs Nice Odds

Porto are 4/11 to win on Thursday, with the draw 7/2 and Nice 13/2 for a first away win in this competition.

Porto to win and both teams to score @ 11/5

Aside from their loss at Forest, Porto have beaten Salzburg 1-0, Red Star 2-1, and drawn 1-1 at Utrecht.

They have kept 10 clean sheets in their last 14, and being overly-defensive was a criticism aimed at Farioli while at both Nice and, subsequently, Ajax.

Haise's arrival ushered in a more exciting edge to Nice's play, and their 66 goals scored were third to only PSG and Marseille in the final 2024/25 Ligue 1 standings.

Today's Football Fixtures

They even netted in Friday's derby defeat to the latter and have only failed to find the net once in all competitions since their opening league loss at home to Toulouse.

That run includes Europa League defeats to Roma, Fenerbahce, Celta Vigo and Freiburg.

Les Aiglons can prove problematic visitors at the Estadio do Dragao, but Porto should take the points.

William Gomes to score at any time @ 2/1

A January arrival from Sao Paulo, William Gomes could be the latest Brazilian to break out at Porto.

The 19-year-old has scored twice in his four Europa League appearances, netting in the wins over Salzburg and Red Star.

Gomes has featured in all four of Porto's Europa League games, so he is expected to get minutes, suggesting he will have chances.

With three out of his six attempts hitting the target, he can be relied on not to be profligate in front of goal, making him a contender for a third Europa League strike of the campaign.