The action continues in round 22 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga as Chaves and Boavista lock horns at the Estadio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira on Saturday.
Having claimed a comfortable 4-1 victory in September's reverse fixture, Os Axadrezados will head into the weekend looking to do the double over the hosts and pick up successive wins for the first time since September.
Match preview
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Less than a year since their impressive seventh-placed finish in the league, Chaves have seen their top-flight status come under serious threat after a disappointing campaign.
Joao Teixeira's side have lost 13 of their 21 Primeira Liga matches — one more than their total tally of last season — while picking up three wins and five draws to collect 14 points and sit rock-bottom in the league table.
Chaves' underwhelming campaign has been owing to their struggles at both ends of the pitch as they hold the division's poorest defensive record with 47 goals conceded already and have scored the fourth-fewest number of goals so far (20).
The Flavienses suffered another blow in their race to beat the drop last Saturday when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Moreirense at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas courtesy of a second-half strike from Madson de Souza.
Chaves have now gone nine consecutive games without a win, losing five and picking up four draws since securing a 2-1 victory over Vizela at the Estadio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira on December 1.
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Boavista, on the other hand, returned to the top half of the Primeira Liga standings with a 2-1 victory over Estoril Praia when the sides squared off at the Estadio do Bessa last Saturday.
Vincent Sasso and Robert Bozenik scored inside the opening half-hour to put the hosts in a commanding lead heading into half time before Venezuelan striker Alejandro Marques halved the deficit with a 54th-minute strike.
This marked just a second win in 16 Primeira Liga matches for Ricardo Paiva's men, who have lost nine and picked up five draws since kicking off the season with four wins and one draw in their opening five games.
With 24 points from 21 matches, Boavista are currently ninth in the league standings, four points above Casa Pia in the relegation playoff spot with just over a quarter of the season left to be played.
However, Os Axadrezados will fancy themselves to pick up consecutive victories for the first time since September as they take on a Chaves side who have failed to win their last four league encounters, losing twice and claiming two draws since a 2-1 win in September 2018.
Team News
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Chaves will head into the weekend clash without the services of midfielder Pedro Pinho, who has been sidelined since sustaining an injury against Famalicao on January 7.
He is joined on the Flavienses' injury table by 24-year-old defender Habbib Sylla, who has been out of action since picking up a muscle problem back in October.
Brazilian defender Ygor Nogueira is also set to serve the second of his three-match suspension after picking up a straight red card in the game against Farense on February 4.
Meanwhile, Veteran goalkeeper Cesar Dutra continues his long road to full fitness after sustaining an ACL injury in February 2023 and the 32-year-old goalkeeper is out of contention for Boavista.
With his strike against Estoril, Bozenik has reached double-digit goal involvements in the league (eight goals and two assists) and we expect the Slovakia international to lead Os Axadrezados attack once again.
Chaves possible starting lineup:
Souza; Vitoria, Fernandes, Pius; Correia, Essugo, Guzzo, Cruz; Ribeiro, Hernandez, Nwakali
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Goncalves; Agra, Abascal, Sasso, Ferreira; Makouta; Lourenco, Watai, Reisinho, Malheiro; Bozenik
We say: Chaves 1-3 Boavista
The last three meetings between Chaves and Boavista have produced a combined 12 goals and we anticipate an action-packed contest this weekend. Paiva's men head into the game as the more in-form side and we are backing them to extend their dominance over the hosts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
