Looking to snap their run of five successive defeats, Estoril Praia play host to Chaves at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota in round 25 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Saturday.
The Flavienses, who ended their four-game winless run last time out, head into the weekend seeking to pick up consecutive league wins for the first time this season and move into the top half of the table.
Match preview
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Estoril Praia hit a new low in what has been an underwhelming campaign as they suffered a 3-2 loss against Porto when the sides squared off at the Estadio do Dragao last Friday.
Despite efforts from Tiago Gouveia and Francisco Geraldes, the gulf in class and quality between the two sides were evident as Marko Grujic, Alan Franco and Mehdi Taremi netted to hand the hosts a thrilling win.
Ricardo Soares's side have now lost five consecutive matches, scoring three goals and shipping 13 since Tiago Araujo and Gouveia found the back of the net to secure a 2-1 comeback win over 10-man Boavista on February 9.
The Canarinhos' poor form has been owing to their struggles in attack, where they have scored just three goals and failed to find the target in six of their last 11 matches.
Coming off a ninth-placed finish in the 2020-21 campaign, Estoril Praia find themselves scrambling for points at the wrong end of the Primeira Liga table as they currently occupy 15th place, six points above the danger zone.
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Chaves, on the other hand, finally stopped the rot as they picked up a 2-0 victory over Portimonense when the sides squared off at the Estadio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira last Saturday.
Despite being under the cosh for most of the game and seeing less than 40% of the ball possession, goals in either half from Juninho Vieira and Issah Abass saw the hosts run out winners for the seventh time this season.
Prior to last weekend's victory, Vitor Campelos's men were on a four-game winless run, picking up one point from a possible 12 while scoring three goals and shipping seven in that time.
With 29 points from 24 matches, Estoril Praia are currently 13th in the league standings, but could potentially rise to eighth place with all three points on Saturday.
However, they have struggled to impose themselves away from home, where they are without a win this year, losing twice and claiming four draws since a 2-1 win over Casa Pia on November 11.
Team News
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Estoril Praia will be without the services of Geraldes, who will serve a one-game suspension after picking up a red card in the dying stages of last weekend's game against Porto.
In his absence, Mor Ndiaye should be handed his 12th league start of the season, teaming up with Joao Gamboa and Joao Carvalho in the centre of the park.
On the injury front, Soares will be unable to call upon Brazilian defender Lucas Africo, who has been sidelined since coming off with a muscle injury in January.
Paulo Vitor (knee), Joao Correia (muscle) and Nwankwo Obioro (muscle) are all on Chaves' injury table and have been ruled out of the trip to the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.
Spanish midfielder Jonathan Arriba had been out of action since picking up an injury in January and the 21-year-old is set to miss his eighth straight game.
Rodrigo Nascimento received a second yellow for time-wasting late in the game against Portimonense and the 27-year-old will sit out this weekend's clash, with backup goalkeeper Goncalo Filipe starting between the sticks for the first time this season.
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Santos, Alvaro, Mexer, Joaozinho; Ndiaye, Gamboa, Carvalho; Cassiano, Guitane; Carlos
Chaves possible starting lineup:
Filipe; Monte, Vitoria, Ponck, Langa; Teixeira, Machado; Euller, Guimaraes, Abass; Juninho
We say: Estoril Praia 1-1 Chaves
Buoyed by their victory over Portimonense, Chaves will head into the weekend with their morale high as they look to move into the top half of the table. However, Estoril Praia cannot be ruled out, given their home advantage. While both sides are evenly-matched and capable of picking up the win, we predict that the game will end in a stalemate.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
