Looking to end their run of five games without a win, Boavista play host to Famalicao in round 11 of the Primeira Liga at the Estadio do Bessa on Friday.
The visitors, on the other hand, will be looking to get one over the hosts after failing to pick up a win in both home and away fixtures last season.
Match preview
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Boavista failed to arrest their slump in form in the Primeira Liga as they suffered a humbling 4-1 loss against title-chasing Porto away from home last Saturday.
In a one-sided affair at the Estadio do Dragao, after Yanis Hamache cancelled out Luis Diaz's 20th-minute opener to restore parity, Evanilson netted twice to put the hosts two goals up before English youngster Danny Loader put the icing on the cake with a debut goal in the 96th minute.
Joao Pedro Sousa's side have now failed to taste victory in any of their most recent five games across all competitions, stretching back to a 2-1 win over Pacos de Ferreira in their Taca da Liga Group C curtain-raiser on September 23.
In that time, Os Axadrezados have picked up three draws and lost twice, including a heavy 4-0 defeat at the hands of Segunda Liga side Rio Ave a little under one month ago which saw their Taca de Portugal run come to an end.
With 11 points from 10 games, Boavista are currently ninth in the Primeira Liga standings, level on points with Pacos de Ferreira, and this has been down to their struggles on the road, where they boast the league's second-worst record with two points and 13 goals conceded in five outings.
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Famalicao, meanwhile, failed to move clear of the relegation places as they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with a spirited Vizela side.
Following a drab first half, it was late drama at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao as Guilherme Schettine put the visitors ahead before Dylan Batubinsika restored parity in the eighth minute of injury time.
Having endured a disappointing start to the season, Famalicao, who secured a ninth-placed finish last term, find themselves in 16th place on the log, level on points with Maritimo and one point above rock-bottom Belenenses.
Despite the result last time out, Ivo Vieira will be impressed by his side's performances in recent weeks and will feel confident in their chances of beating the drop as they have picked up two wins and one draw from their most recent four games in all competitions.
While the Vila Nova will be looking to continue in the same vein, next up is an opposing side who are unbeaten in each of the last four meetings between the teams, claiming two draws and one win since a 1-0 loss back in January 2020.
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Team News
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Boavista will take to the pitch without the services of Miguel Reisinho after the Portuguese midfielder sustained a knee injury in the game versus Pacos de Ferreira on August 16.
Reggie Cannon is also out of contention for the hosts after the 23-year-old trudged off the pitch inside the opening 17 minutes in the game against Porto last time out.
In the absence of the American defender, Portuguese youngster Pedro Malheiro could come into the fold for his fourth league start of the season.
Alex Nascimento is set to continue his spell on the sidelines after the Brazilian defender picked up an injury in the game versus Santa Clara two weeks ago.
Other than that, there are no concerns on the injury front for Famalicao and we expect Vieira to field his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation with Simon Banza, who has notched up five goals so far, spearheading the attack.
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Beiranvand; Garcia, Porozo, Abascal; Malheiro, Nathan, Perez, Hamache; Njie, Musa, Sauer
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Figueiras, Riccieli, Penetra, Marin; Pickel, Pepe; Jaime, Paulo, Tavares; Banza
We say: Boavista 1-1 Famalicao
Boavista boasts one of the division's best home records heading into Friday's game, having picked up nine points from five games at the Estadio do Bessa. However, they are without a win in any of their last seven league games and will be looking to end this dry spell. Famalicao have proven to be a tough nut to crack in recent games and we anticipate the spoils will be shared in this one.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Boavista win with a probability of 39.51%. A win for Famalicao had a probability of 31.3% and a draw had a probability of 29.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Boavista win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.26%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.81%) and 2-0 (7.76%). The likeliest Famalicao win was 0-1 (11.42%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.35%). The actual scoreline of 2-5 was predicted with a 0.1% likelihood.
