Casa Pia and Famalicao are in action for the first time in the new year when they go head to head at the Estadio Pina Manique in round 17 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
Both sides head into the weekend in contrasting form, with the Vila Nova failing to win any of their last seven matches across all competitions while the hosts set out in search of a fourth win on the bounce.
Match preview
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Casa Pia closed out 2024 on a high as they secured a 2-1 hard-fought victory over Braga when the two teams squared off at the Estadio Braga Municipal last Sunday.
Telasco Segovia broke the deadlock with a 40th-minute effort, and after Amine El Ouazzani netted on the stroke of half time to level matters, in-form striker Nuno Moreira hit their target in the 70th to condemn Braga to their fourth league defeat of the campaign.
Casa Pia have now picked up three wins on the bounce, seeing off Estoril Praia, Arouca and Braga, and are unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches across all competitions, claiming six wins and three draws since October 19.
Os Gansos' only defeat in that time came on December 2, when they were beaten 2-0 by a star-studded Porto side at the Estadio do Dragao courtesy of second-half goals from Fabio Vieira and Samu Aghehowa.
Joao Pereira's men will now look to build on their solid first half of the season as they currently sit seventh in the Primeira Liga standings with 23 points from 16 games, seven points adrift of the European qualifying places.
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Famalicao, on the other hand, failed to find their feet in their final outing of 2024 as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Santa Clara at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao on Monday.
Despite seeing just 31% of the ball possession and being on the back foot for most of the game, Gabriel Silva and Sidney Lima scored against the run of play to put Santa Clara two goals up before Sorisso halved the deficit with a 58th-minute strike.
Famalicao have now failed to taste victory in seven back-to-back games, picking up three draws and losing four, including a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Santa Clara in their Taca de Portugal fourth-round clash on November 24.
This poor run of results has been owing to their recent struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 10 goals from their last five league games, having allowed just nine in the 11 outings preceding this run.
The Vila Nova have lost five of their 16 Primeira Liga matches while claiming four wins and seven draws to collect 19 points and sit ninth in the league table, level on points with 10th-placed Rio Ave.
While Famalicao will be looking to find their feet this weekend, they journey to the Estadio Pina Manique, where Casa Pia are unbeaten in each of their last seven games across all competitions, picking up four wins and three draws since losing back-to-back games against Boavista and Santa Clara back in August.
Team News
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Casa Pia will take to the pitch without the services of Guinea-Bissau forward Claudio Mendes, who is yet to make an appearance this season after sustaining a severe knee injury in May.
He is joined in the club's injury table by 26-year-old forward Kiki Silva, who continues his long road to full fitness after coming off injured in the game against Mafra back in August.
With his winner against Braga, Moreira now has 10 goal contributions in his last 10 matches and the 25-year-old should lead Os Gansos' attack once again, alongside Jeremy Livolant and veteran striker Cassiano.
Meanwhile, Famalicao remain without 19-year-old forward Yassir Zabiri, who has been sidelined since picking up an injury while on international duty with Morocco Under-20s back in November.
First-choice goalkeeper Ivan Zlobin has missed the last two matches due to illness and is a major doubt for this weekend's clash, meaning that we should see 25-year-old Lazar Carevic between the sticks once again.
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Sequeira; Goulart, Fonte, Tchamba; Geraldes, Segovia, Kraev, Lelo; Livolant, Cassiano, Moreira
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Carevic; Pinheiro, Mihaj, De Haas, Soares; Youssouf, Topic; Sorriso, Sa, Aranda; Gonzalez
We say: Casa Pia 2-1 Famalicao
Casa Pia will head into their first game of the year looking to pick up where they left off in 2024 as they aim to strengthen their position in the top half of the table. Famalicao, meanwhile, have struggled to get going in recent weeks and we predict that Pereira's men 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
