Estrela Amadora and Famalicao bring round two of the Portuguese Primeira Liga to an end when they go head to head at the Estadio Jose Gomes on Monday.
Having failed to win both home and away meetings between the two teams last season, the Vila Nova will head into the game looking to get one over the hosts and pick up back-to-back victories in their opening two matches.
Match preview
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Estrela Amadora turned in a resilient team display in their 2024-25 Primeira Liga curtain-raiser as they fought back from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw with Braga at the Estadio Braga Municipal last Sunday.
Following a relatively uneventful first half, new signing Amine El Ouazzani opened his account for Braga in the 53rd minute to put them in front but Kikas struck with 10 minutes left to force a share of the spoils.
This followed a decent run of results in pre-season, where Estrela picked up four wins from their six friendly matches while scoring 14 goals and keeping two clean sheets.
With the result against Braga, Filipe Martins's men have now failed to win nine of their last 10 Primeira Liga matches, losing three and claiming six draws since the second week of March.
Estrela have come into the new term off the back of a forgettable 2023-24 campaign, where they picked up 33 points from 34 league matches to finish 14th in the table, just one point above the relegation playoff spot.
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Famalicao, on the other hand, picked up a dream start to the new campaign as they secured a 2-0 victory over Benfica in the season opener at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao last Sunday.
Despite seeing 65% of the ball possession and being on the front foot for most of the game, Benfica were made to rue their lack of sting in front of goal as Sorriso and Zaydou Youssouf netted in either half to hand the hosts all three points.
Famalicao have now picked up two back-to-back Primeira Liga opening-day victories, having suffered defeat in each of the first three seasons following their promotion from the Segunda Liga in 2019.
The performance against Benfica was in keeping with their impressive showing in pre-season, where Armando Evangelista's men went unbeaten in each of their six warm-up matches, picking up four wins and two draws.
He will be delighted with his side's start to the campaign as the Vila Nova look to build on their performance from last season, where they picked up 10 wins and 12 draws from 34 matches to collect 42 points and finish eighth in the table.
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Team News
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Portuguese full-back Nilton Varela came off injured late in the season opener against Braga and the 23-year-old is a doubt for Monday's clash.
Should he fail to shake off the injury, Ruben Lima will push for a starting role, teaming up with Issiar Drame, Danilo Lopes and 21-year-old Danilo Veiga at the defensive end of the pitch.
Kikas, who netted eight goals in the Primeira Liga last term, should lead the hosts' attack alongside strike partner Rodrigo Pinho, while Manuel Keliano and Leonel Bucca could retain their roles in midfield.
Following their impressive opening-day victory, Famalicao may name a similar starting side this weekend, with Lucas Calegari, Enea Mihaj, Justin De Haas and Francisco Moura forming the back four once again.
Youssouf, who started 32 league games last season, opened his account for the season against Benfica and should team up with Mirko Topic and Gustavo Sa at the centre of the park.
At the attacking end of the pitch, we expect to see the front three of Sorriso, 29-year-old Rochinha and Spanish striker Oscar Aranda for the second consecutive game.
Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:
Brigido; Veiga, Lopes, Drame, Lima; Keliano, Bucca; Luiz, Kikas, Henrique; Pinho
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Calegari, Mihaj, De Haas, Moura; Topic, Youssouf, Sa; Rochinha, Sorriso, Aranda
We say: Estrela Amadora 1-1 Famalicao
Famalicao will head into Monday's tie looking to add to their impressive opening-day display against Braga and build a solid early-season form. The Vila Nova suffered a 1-0 loss when they visited the Estadio Jose Gomes last season and we predict that Estrela will hold out for a share of the spoils on Monday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
