Seeking to secure their first win of the 2024-25 Primeira Liga campaign, Estoril Praia journey to the Estadio do Bessa to take on Boavista on Saturday.
Os Axadrezados head into the weekend unbeaten in six back-to-back home games against Estoril and will be looking to make it four consecutive wins between the teams since May 2023.
Match preview
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Boavista were left empty handed for the second straight game as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Famalicao when the two sides squared off last Saturday.
In a cagey affair at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao, Gustavo Sa's sixth-minute strike was enough to separate the two sides as the Vila Nova held firm to maintain their 100% start to the new campaign.
Prior to that, Boavista kicked off the season with a 1-0 victory over Casa Pia at the Estadio Pina Manique on August 10 courtesy of a second-half penalty from Miguel Reisinho, one week before falling to a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Braga.
Cristiano Bacci's men have now failed to win 11 of their last 12 Primeira Liga matches — losing seven and claiming four draws — a run which saw them finish 15th in the table last season, only above the relegation zone on goal difference.
However, Boavista will be backing themselves to find their feet this weekend as they take on an opposing side who have lost each of their last three meetings, conceding five goals and scoring twice since a 2-1 win in February 2023.
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Estoril Praia, on the other hand, failed to secure their first win of the new Primeira Liga campaign last weekend when they played out a goalless draw with Gil Vicente on home turf.
A total of 25 shots were fired between the two sides at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota but neither goalkeeper would end up picking the ball out of the back of the net, with a draw being a fair result upon reflection.
Estoril Praia had kicked off the season with two back-to-back defeats as they were thrashed 4-1 by newly-promoted Santa Clara in the opening game on August 11, one week before losing 1-0 to Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.
With last weekend's result, Ian Cathro's men have now gone 10 consecutive games without a win across all competitions, losing six and picking up four draws since scraping a 1-0 victory over Famalicao on April 28.
While Estoril will be looking to end this dire run and get their season up and running, they have failed to taste league victory away from home in 11 months, losing seven and claiming five draws in their 12 games since beating Porto 1-0 at the Estadio do Dragao last November.
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Team News
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Barring any late fitness issues, Boavista head into the weekend with a clean bill of health and no suspension concerns, giving Bacci the luxury of a full-strength squad at his disposal.
Despite their defeat against Famalicao, we expect the Italian coach to name a similar starting XI on Saturday, with Pedro Gomes, Filipe Ferreira, Rodrigo Abascal and Bruno Onyemaechi forming the back four once again.
Reisinho, Ilija Vukotic and 25-year-old Ibrahima Camara should retain their roles in the centre of the park, while Robert Bozenik, who finished with nine goals and two assists last season, should lead the attack.
As for Estoril Praia, Cathro will be unable to call upon the services of Scottish midfielder Jordan Holsgrove, who continues his lengthy spell on the sidelines after picking up a severe injury in January.
New signing Kevin Boma has missed each of the opening three matches due to an injury and the former Rodez man is also out of contention for this weekend's matchup.
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Goncalves; Gomes, Ferreira, Abascal, Onyemaechi; Reisinho, Vukotic, Camara; Silva, Agra, Bozenik
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Robles; Carvalho, Alvaro, Mangala, Amaral; Zanocelo, Orellana, Costa; Costa, Marques, Begraoui
We say: Boavista 2-1 aEstoril Praia
While Estoril Praia have stumbled into the new campaign, they will aim to take the positives from their stalemate against Gil Vicente and secure their first win of the season. However, their form on the road is currently nothing to write home about and we predict that Boavista will do just enough to secure all three points in front of their home supporters.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
