This weekend's round of Primeira Liga fixtures kicks off in the city of Porto on Friday evening, as Boavista play host to Pacos de Ferreira.
After two important results, the hosts moved out of the bottom two of the Primeira Liga table, while the away side sit comfortably in fifth spot despite a dip in form in recent weeks.
Match preview
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Boavista were forced to settle for a point last time out, when they hosted 12th-placed Rio Ave.
As Panteras took the lead on three separate occasions through a Yusupha Njie brace inside the first 15 minutes and a Ronan own goal after 80 minutes.
That looked set to make the difference and see Boavista to a 3-2 victory, until Fabio Coentrao found the net for the visitors in the 93rd minute to force Jesualdo Ferreira's men to settle for a point.
Despite an undoubtedly disappointing result considering the situation of the game, that was another crucial point for Os Axadrezados, as they find themselves in a battle to avoid the drop and remain out of the bottom three.
They were fired out of the drop zone by a crucial 2-0 away win over Belenenses prior to the recent draw, as Angel Gomes netted the opener on the stroke of half time before Alberth Elis put the game out of sight on the hour mark.
That sealed a fifth league win of the season for Ferreira's men, and saw them move up to 15th spot, now sitting a point above Maritimo in the relegation playoff place and three points above the automatic drop zone.
However, As Panteras know that they are far from safe as it stands, and they will look to continue their positive progress with what would be an impressive victory on Friday to give their survival hopes another major boost.
They welcome a Pacos de Ferreira side who will be hopeful of bouncing back from a thumping 5-0 defeat to Benfica last time out.
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Os Castores went into that game on the back of an inconsistent run of form and against a Benfica side who were hitting their stride, and their task was made even tougher when Stephen Eustaquio was shown a red card after 22 minutes.
The visitors did not take long to punish a ten-man Pacos de Ferreira outfit, as goals from Diogo Goncalves, Rafa Silva and Haris Seferovic put them three goals ahead in the first half, before a second Seferovic goal and a Darwin Nunez finish saw Pepa's side fall to a 5-0 thrashing.
Before that, Os Castores fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat away at Famalicao, as goals from Anderson and Ivan Jaime sealed a comfortable win for the side who were previously stuck in a battle for survival.
With the hopes of a finish in the top four all but gone for Pepa's side, they seem to have taken their foot off the gas to some extent, and the manager will be desperate to stop their poor run reaching three consecutive defeats, as they look to put together a strong end to the season despite having little to play for other than an impressive finish in fifth place.
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Team News
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Boavista will come into this game without Yanis Hamache, who will serve a suspension after he was shown a red card in the draw with Rio Ave.
They could also remain without captain Javi Garcia, who has missed the last two matches through injury.
However, their attacking ranks will be boosted by the return of Angel Gomes, who served a suspension last time out after he was sent off in the 2-0 victory against Belenenses.
Gomes is expected to slot straight back into an attacking role for As Panteras, potentially joining Alberth Elis.
However, Yusupha Njie also put forward his claim for a starting spot last time out, as he netted a brace after coming into the side in Gomes's absence.
Cristian Devenish, Adil Rami and Chidozie Awaziem will reform a strong and familiar back line, shielding Leo Jardim in the Boavista net.
Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio will be unavailable for Pacos de Ferreira, as he serves a suspension following the early red card against Benfica.
However, they will welcome forward Douglas Tanque back to the side, after his suspension for a red card shown in the dying minutes of the defeat to Famalicao.
Tanque will join Helder Ferreira in attack, while winger Luther Singh could also return to reform the familiar front three.
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Jardim; Devenish, Rami, Awaziem; Cannon, Paulinho, Sauer, Mangas; Gomes, Elis, Njie
Pacos de Ferreira possible starting lineup:
Jordi; Fonseca, Marcelo, Gonzaga, Rebocho; Costa, Carlos, Castanheira; Singh, Tanque, Ferreira
We say: Boavista 2-0 Pacos de Ferreira
Boavista undoubtedly have far more to play for in the league, and we see that extra desire, combined with the hit that Os Castores' confidence has taken, leading them to another crucial victory on Friday.
The visitors will be wounded from the 5-0 thrashing last time out, while Boavista have shown major progress in recent weeks, combining a solid back three and an impressive forward line, and we see them taking advantage of a weakened Pacos de Ferreira side to pick up three points.
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 39.19%. A win for Pacos de Ferreira had a probability of 30.8% and a draw had a probability of 30%.
The most likely scoreline for a Boavista win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.02%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (7.86%) and 2-1 (7.53%). The likeliest Pacos de Ferreira win was 0-1 (11.98%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.43%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Boavista would win this match.
