SC Farense welcome Moreirense to the Estadio de Sao Luis on Monday afternoon as the two teams aim to build on positive results last time out.
The hosts picked up a point when they entertained Santa Clara in midweek, while Vasco Seabra's men were victorious on the road when they took on Famalicao.
Match preview
© Reuters
The Leoes de Faro have struggled so far in 2020-21. Their 13-point haul after the opening 16 games of the season sees them rooted to the foot of the division, albeit with a game in hand over the clubs immediately above them.
After enduring a five-game winless streak, Sergio Vieira was relieved of his duties by the Farense hierarchy at the start of the month and replaced by compatriot Jorge Costa.
A point on Thursday ended a run of four consecutive defeats for Costa's men, who are without a victory since December 7.
Three points on Monday could see Farense shoot up the Primeira Liga standings and escape the relegation zone. Costa will be desperate to secure his first win as manager as soon as possible and will be viewing this upcoming encounter as a good opportunity to do just that.
Moreirense will be tricky customers, though, as the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas outfit are currently sitting in eighth position in the league table.
The win over Famalicao last time out put serious daylight between themselves and the bottom three, and Seabra will be hoping his side can maintain their momentum on Monday and continue to rise up the division.
Os Verdes e Brancos are yet to record back-to-back victories in the top flight this season and will be hoping to do so for the first time when they face Farense.
A win in this imminent clash could cement their status as a mid-table team and ease any lingering fears of being dragged into a relegation dogfight.
SC Farense Primeira Liga form: DLWLLD
Moreirense Primeira Liga form: LDWDLW
Moreirense form (all competitions): DLWDLW
Team News
Defensive midfielder Claudio Falcao is the only absentee for Farense after the 26-year-old picked up an injury at the start of January and is yet to recover.
Former Dundee United midfielder Ryan Gauld has been the key man for the Portuguese outfit this season, bagging five goals and providing four assists, and the Scotsman will be pivotal to his side's chances once again for the visit of Moreirense.
Pedro Nuno and Pedro Amador remain unavailable for Seabra, with the pair still sidelined with cruciate ligament injuries.
They are joined in the treatment room by midfielder Sori Mane and striking pair Andre Luis and Derik Lacerda.
SC Farense possible starting lineup:
Defendi; Tavares, Pinto, Mancha, Nunes; Oudrhir, Falcao; Lica, Gauld, Mansilla; Stojiljkovic
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Pasinato; Ba, Rosic, Vitoria; Conte, F.Soares, Pacheco, A.Soares, D'Alberto; Walterson, Yan
We say: SC Farense 1-1 Moreirense
With the hosts desperately in need of a good result and enjoying the bounce that a new manager so often brings, we fancy Farense to pick up another point when Moreirense come to visit.
Top betting tip
George Cannon
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a SC Farense win with a probability of 41.16%. A win for Moreirense had a probability of 30.06% and a draw had a probability of 28.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a SC Farense win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (8.1%) and 2-1 (8.08%). The likeliest Moreirense win was 0-1 (10.87%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.25%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 6.6% likelihood.
