Famalicao and Moreirense will be looking to secure back-to-back wins for the first time since the turn of the year when they lock horns at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao on Sunday.
The home side made light work of Gil Vicente last weekend, while Os verdes e brancos head into the weekend off the back of seeing off Casa Pia in a five-goal thriller on home turf.
Match preview
© Imago
Famalicao continued their resurgence under new head coach Hugo Oliveira as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Gil Vicente when the two sides square off at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos last Monday.
Dutch defender Justin De Haas headed home the opener right on the stroke of half time to swing the momentum in favour of the visitors before Vaclav Sejk finished off a well-worked team goal in the 60th minute to double their advantage.
Famalicao have now gone four back-to-back matches without defeat across all competitions — claiming two wins and two draws while scoring four goals and keeping four clean sheets — having failed to win the previous 10 outings in all competitions preceding this run.
This upturn in form has seen Oliveira's men surge just to the top half of the Primeira Liga standings as they occupy ninth place with 28 points from 22 games, two points and one place above this weekend's visitors.
While the Vila Nova will be looking to secure consecutive victories for the first time since August this weekend, results at home offer little optimism as they have failed to win any of their last 10 matches at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao since the start of September.
© Imago
On the other hand, Moreirense returned to winning ways last Saturday when they held on to see out a narrow 3-2 victory against Casa Pia at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas.
Brazilian midfielder Alan turned in a five-star individual display as he netted a first-half hat-trick to put the hosts in a commanding position before Max Svensson and Cassiano hit the target for Casa Pia to reduce the deficit.
This was a much-needed respite for Moreirense, who had failed to win any of their previous nine outings, claiming three draws and losing six, including a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Gil Vicente in the Taca de Portugal fifth round on January 12.
As highlighted in last week's victory over Casa Pia, Moreirense's recent struggles have been owing to their defensive vulnerability as they have conceded 16 goals and managed just one clean sheet in their 10 outings since mid-December.
While Cesar Peixoto's men will look to continue from where they left off last time out and move into the top half of the table, it is worth noting that they have failed to win any of their most recent eight games on the road, losing seven and claiming one draw since October's 2-0 victory at Boavista.
Team News
© Imago
Famalicao will have to cope without first-choice goalkeeper Ivan Zlobin, who has missed each of the last eight games since picking up an injury following the game against Braga back in December.
Other than that, the Vila Nova boasts a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Oliveira the luxury of a relatively full-strength squad at his disposal.
Moreirense will have to cope without Portuguese forward Hernani Infande, who has been ruled out since picking up a ligament injury against Arouca back in March 2024.
He is joined on the Os verdes e brancos' injury table by Brazilian midfielder Guilherme Liberato, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering a knee injury last August.
Following his hat-trick against Casa Pia last time out, Alan now boasts eight goal involvements in the league this season and the 24-year-old should team up with Ivo Rodrigues and Lawrence Ofori in the centre of the park once again.
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Carevic; Pinheiro, Realpe, De Haas, Soares, De Amorim; Van de Looi, Sorriso; Sa, Aranda; Sejk
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Kewin; Pinto, Maracas, Batista, Frimpong; Alan, Ofori, Rodrigues; Santos, Schettine, Benny
We say: Famalicao 2-1 Moreirense
After a slow start to his reign at the helm of affairs, Oliveira has Famalicao firing once again as they look to secure a top-half finish. Moreirense's form on the road is currently nothing to write home about and we fancy the Vila Nova to come away with the desired result this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
