Round 24 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga comes to an end on Monday when Famalicao and Boavista go head to head at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao.
Separated by just two points in the bottom half of the league table, we anticipate a thrilling contest between the two sides as they continue their quest for a top-half finish.
Match preview
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Off the back of an impressive eighth-placed finish in the 2022-23 campaign, Famalicao came into the new term looking to pick up where they left off and mount a stronger charge for a place in Europe.
In what has been a somewhat disappointing campaign, Joao Pedro Sousa's men find themselves 20 points adrift of the Europa Conference League qualification spot with just over a quarter of the season left to go.
Famalicao's top-four dreams suffered a huge blow last Friday as they fell to a 3-2 defeat against Arouca when the sides squared off at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca.
Despite Jhonder Cadiz and Gustavo Sa finding the target for the Vila Nova, Daniel Sousa's men came from behind to claim a vital win courtesy of strikes from Morlaye Sylla, Cristo Gonzalez and Rafa Mujica.
This came just one week after the Braga-based outfit snapped their three-game winless run with a 2-1 comeback victory over Rio Ave at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao.
Famalicao have now lost eight of their 22 Primeira Liga matches so far while claiming six wins and eight draws to collect 26 points and sit 10th in the table, level on points with Farense, Gil Vicente and Casa Pia.
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Bovista, on the other hand, were left empty handed for a second consecutive game as they suffered a 4-0 hammering against Braga at the Estadio do Bessa on Monday.
Os Arcebispos turned in a clinic at the attacking end of the pitch as goals from Abel Ruiz, Rodrigo Zalazar and a brace from Simon Banza saw them cruise to their 14th league win of the season.
Prior to that, Luis Freire's men snapped their run of three consecutive games without a win courtesy of a 2-1 victory against Estoril Praia on February 10, one week before crashing back down to earth in a 2-1 loss at Chaves.
While this poor run of results has seen Boavista drop to 12th place in the Primeira Liga standings — just two points above the danger zone — they could surge into eighth place with all three points on Monday.
However, recent results against Famalicao offer little optimism as Os Axadrezados have failed to win any of the last three meetings between the two teams, losing both home and away fixtures last season before being held to a 2-2 draw in September.
Team News
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Cadiz will be a notable absentee for Famalicao on Monday as the 28-year-old serves a one-game suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card in the league against Arouca last time out.
With nine league goals under his belt, Cadiz has been a standout performer for the Vila Nova, but Benfica loanee Henrique Araujo should spearhead the attack on Monday.
Former Alaves midfielder Jose Luis Rodriguez picked up a straight red card late in the game against Arouca and is set to serve the first of his three-match suspension.
Meanwhile, Boavista will be without Pedro Malheiro, who has been out of action since coming off with a muscle problem against Chaves on February 17.
He is joined on the club's injury table by Brazilian goalkeeper Cesar Dutra and Teenage defender Augusto Dabo, who continue their lengthy spells on the sidelines.
Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Junior; Nathan, De Haas, Mihaj, Moura; Topic, Lacoux; Sorriso, Sa, Chiquinho, Araujo
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Goncalves; Agra, Abascal, Sasso, Ferreira; Makouta; Lourenco, Perez, Reisinho. Watai; Bozenik
We say: Famalicao 3-1 Boavista
The last eight meetings between Famalicao and Boavista have produced a combined 32 goals and we anticipate another action-packed contest at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao. That said, we predict that Sousa's men will bounce back from their narrow defeat against Arouca and claim all three points in front of their home crowd.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
