Porto invite Rio Ave in their second fixture of the Taca de Liga group stage on Wednesday. The hosts have been eliminated from the competition as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Santa Clara in their opening fixture in October.Rio Ave have a narrow chance of making it into the next round only if they defeat the Portuguese Primeira Liga leaders here. They played out a 2-2 draw against Santa Clara in September.Porto recorded their ninth consecutive win in the league as they overcame Braga 1-0 at Wednesday's venue. Rio Ave faced their second consecutive defeat in Liga Pro as Mafra secured a comeback 2-1 win on Saturday.Rio Ave FC@RioAve_FCNext stop 🔜 @FCPorto 🎫 bit.ly/3pQZiXJ#PorTodosVencer #rioavefc #AllianzCup11:25 AM · Dec 13, 20212Next stop 🔜 @FCPorto 🎫 bit.ly/3pQZiXJ#PorTodosVencer #rioavefc #AllianzCup https://t.co/xMuxmA5jm4Porto vs Rio Ave Head-to-HeadThere have been 46 meetings between the two sides so far since 1996. Porto have dominated the fixture and have 34 wins to their name while the visiting side have just one win against the Primeira Liga giants.The spoils have been shared 11 times between the two sides here. They last squared off at Estadio dos Arcos in May. Three second-half goals ensured a 3-0 win for Dragões. Porto form guide (all competitions): W-L-W-W-LRio Ave form guide (all competitions): L-L-W-W-WPorto vs Rio Ave Team NewsPorto Ivan Marcano continues to be sidelined with a foot injury and won't be making an appearance here. Here are the rest of the absentees for the hosts:Claudio Ramos - Back injuryFC Porto@FCPorto⚽ #DaBancada 👏 Todos os ângulos são bons para veres o golo do @LuisFDiaz19 💪🤩 O passe do @matheus_uribe8 👏👏👏#FCPorto #FCPSCB10:08 AM · Dec 13, 202148229⚽ #DaBancada 👏 Todos os ângulos são bons para veres o golo do @LuisFDiaz19 💪🤩 O passe do @matheus_uribe8 👏👏👏#FCPorto #FCPSCB https://t.co/ismZm4iWzhInjured: Ivan MarcanoDoubtful: Claudio RamosSuspended: NoneRIo AveJunio has not made an appearance for Vilacondenses on account of a leg injury and is a doubt for this game as well.Injury: JunioSuspension: NonePorto vs Rio Ave Predicted XIPorto Predicted XI (4-4-2): Diogo Costa; Zaid Sanusi, Chancel Mbemba, Fabio Cardoso, Wilson Manafa; Otavio, Sergio Oliviera, Mateus Uribe, Luis Diaz; Mehdi Taremi, EvanilsonRio Ave Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Jhonatan; Pedro Amaral, Hugo Domingos Gomes, Aderlan Leandro de Jesus Santos, Costinha; Vítor Gomes, Rúben Gonçalves; Joca, Gabrielzinho, Guga; Pedro MendesPorto vs Rio Ave PredictionPorto suffered a shock 3-1 loss against Santa Clara in their opening fixture of the Taca de Liga, but have been in great form since that loss in the Portuguese top-flight.Rio Ave need a win here but have lost two games in a row and might struggle against the hosts, who have been beaten just once by the visitors. A win for Porto is the most likely outcome from the game.Prediction: Porto 2-0 Rio Ave