Round 16 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga gets underway on Friday when Portimonense and Santa Clara go head to head at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao.
Having endured a rough end to the first half of the season, both sides head into the weekend in search of a pick-me-up as they look to arrest their slumps and push into the top half of the league standings.
Match preview
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Portimonense were denied a dream start to the new year as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of title-chasing Benfica when the sides squared off last Friday.
In a one-sided affair at the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Portuguese forward Joao Mario netted the only goal of the game when he converted his ninth-minute penalty to hand As Aguias their 13th win of the season.
Prior to that, the Alvinegros crashed out of the Taca da Liga following a 3-0 defeat against Gil Vicente on December 14 before losing 2-1 at home against Casa Pia on December 28.
Paulo Sergio's men head into the weekend on a run of just one win in their last eight league outings, managing one draw and suffering six defeats since the start of October.
With 19 points from 15 matches, Portimonense are currently 11th in the Primeira Liga standings, but could rise as high as seventh place with all three points this weekend.
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Like this weekend's hosts, Santa Clara were left empty handed last time out as they were humbled 4-0 by Braga at the Estadio de Sao Miguel.
Portuguese forward Ricardo Horta continued his red-hot form in front of goal as he scored twice and set up another to inspire Artur Jorge's side to their 11th win of the season.
Santa Clara are currently winless in six consecutive matches across all competitions, picking up one draw and losing five — a run which saw them finish rock-bottom in Group G of the Taca da Liga.
Mario Silva's men have managed just three wins, four draws and lost eight of their 15 matches to collect 13 points and sit 15th in the league standings, one point above Gil Vicente in the relegation playoff spot.
Os Acoreanos' underwhelming campaign has been owing to their struggles on the road, where they have managed just one win and currently hold the league's joint second-worst record with four points from seven matches.
However, Santa Clara will fancy their chances of getting the desired result on Friday as they take on a Portimonense side against whom they are unbeaten against in 16 of their last 20 encounters, claiming seven wins and nine draws since September 2008.
Team News
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Portimonense will take to the pitch without the services of Brazilian midfielder Carlinhos, who has been sidelined since last May through a severe injury.
He is joined on the Alvinegros' injury table by fellow countryman Welinton Junior, who is set to sit out his 10th consecutive game after coming off injured against Estoril Praia in October.
As for Santa Clara, Silva will be unable to call upon the services of Tomas Domingos, who picked up an injury back in May.
Veteran midfielder Anderson Carvalho has missed the last six matches through a muscle injury and the 32-year-old is out of contention for the trip to the Estadio Municipal de Portimao.
First-choice goalkeeper Marco Rocha has been sidelined since coming off injured in October's 1-0 loss against Rio Ave and the 35-year-old will play no part in this weekend's match.
Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Nakamura; Moufi, Pedrao, Relvas, Seck; Klismahn, Diaby, Moreira; Ouattara, Cariello, Sapara
Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Gabriel; Sagna, Boateng, Gonzalez, Quintilla; Costinha, Almeida, Firmino; Ricardinho, Tagawa, Silva
We say: Portimonense 1-1 Santa Clara
Portimonense and Santa Clara will head into the weekend in search of a morale-boosting result as they look to find their feet in the league. While the hosts are four places higher in the league table, both sides are evenly matched on paper, and we predict tha the spoils will be shared in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
