Aiming to break out of the bottom three of the Primeira Liga table, Estrela Amadora will welcome Casa Pia to the Estadio Jose Gomes on Friday.
The hosts dropped into the relegation playoff place last weekend, while their visitors have gained a crucial cushion over the drop zone with an upturn in form in recent weeks.
Match preview
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With 10 games left to play this term, Estrela Amadora find themselves in a concerning position in their bid to avoid an immediate relegation in their first-ever season in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, as they currently sit in the bottom three.
From their 24 games thus far, the Tricolores have amassed 23 points courtesy of five wins and seven draws, with the most recent of those triumphs being a crucial one at home to fellow strugglers Portimonense in early February as Leo Jaba got on the scoresheet alongside first-half own goals from Carlinhos and Kosuke Nakamura.
Sergio Vieira's side have not managed to build a sustained survival bid since, though, adding just one more point to their tally in the last three attempts and dropping back into the bottom three as a result as they went on to lose 2-0 away at Porto and share the points in a 1-1 draw at home to 17th-placed Chaves thanks to Ronaldo Tavares's leveller on the stroke of half time.
Another tough away trip followed last weekend as Braga awaited on Saturday, and the Tricolores left empty-handed from a 3-0 defeat, albeit with Simone Banza's opener not coming until the 57th minute and the third being scored deep into injury time.
While their recent form is far from adequate if they are to avoid the drop this term, Estrela Amadora have faced a relatively tough schedule and only trail Estoril Praia outside of the bottom three on goal difference and Portimonense and Rio Ave by a single point, meaning a victory on home turf on Friday would see them quickly move into a stronger position with a slight cushion over the drop zone.
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They face another tough test, though, as the visitors arrive having only recently climbed away from the bottom three themselves with a much-needed upturn in form.
Also aiming to preserve their top-flight status after a 10th-placed finish last time around, Casa Pia sat in a difficult position after 21 league games, as a five-match winless run, including an 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Sporting Lisbon, left them in the bottom three on just 20 points.
The Casapianos have been able to bounce back in impressive fashion since, though, building a healthy lead over the drop zone in recent weeks as they firstly returned to winning ways at home to Arouca as Clayton netted the only goal 16 minutes from time.
A tough trip to fifth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes then followed, and Goncalo Santos's side made it back-to-back three-point hauls with a 2-0 triumph thanks to goals from Clayton and Pablo Roberto, before most recently meeting Gil Vicente in a mid-table clash last Sunday and taking a share of the spoils from a goalless stalemate.
Now sitting 10th with a five-point lead over their hosts in the bottom three and a nine-point lead over the automatic drop zone, with confidence back on their side following three consecutive pleasing results and clean sheets, Casa Pia will now bid to extend their cushion further and push for a top-half place with another victory on Friday.
Team News
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Estrela Amadora continue to deal with several injury issues heading into Friday's contest, with Mansur, Gustavo Henrique and Manuel Keliano remaining confined to the treatment room.
Sergio Vieira should avoid making many changes to the starting XI from their defeat away at Braga last time out, given they stood strong until the hour mark, with Kialonda Gaspar, Pedro Mendes and Ruben Lima set to continue in a back three while Pedro Sa and Leo Cordeiro will again partner up in the engine room in their 3-4-3 shape.
At the top end of the pitch, Ronaldo Tavares should continue to lead the line, while Leo Jaba is a danger man on the right wing having notched up five goals alongside three assists in the Primeira Liga so far this term.
With Fernando Varela likely remaining sidelined, Casa Pia should be unchanged from their draw with Gil Vicente last time out, given the recent improvement in their fortunes, with Joao Nunes again set to join Nermin Zolotic and Duplexe Tchamba in a back three in Varela's absence.
Clayton will again spearhead the attack in a 3-4-3 shape similar to that of their hosts, having scored twice in their last three games to take his tally to eight for the season in Portugal's top flight.
He will have support from Nuno Moreira and Pablo Roberto, while Neto and Rafael Brito are bound to continue their partnership in the engine room.
Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:
Bruno; Gaspar, Mendes, Lima; Santos, Cordeiro, Sa, Nanu; Jaba, Tavares, N'do
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Nunes, Zolotic, Tchamba; Larrazabal, Neto, Brito, Lelo; Moreira, Clayton, Roberto
We say: Estrela Amadora 0-1 Casa Pia
Casa Pia appear to have turned a corner in recent weeks in their survival bid, particularly in defence, and we fancy them to extend their impressive run with a victory and clean sheet against a struggling Estrela Amadora side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
