Seeking to end their run of nine games without an away win across all competitions, Moreirense take a trip to Braga District to square off against Vizela at the Estadio do FC Vizela on Saturday.
The hosts head into the game fresh off the back of ending their two-game losing streak and will be aiming to pick up successive Primeira Liga home wins for the first time this season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Vizela kicked off the New Year by returning to winning ways in the Primeira Liga as they saw off a struggling Belenenses side 2-0 when they locked horns on January 2.
Despite controlling proceedings for most of the game, O Belem failed to tuck home any of their numerous clear-cut chances as Kiko Bondoso and Cassiano netted first-half goals to hand the hosts all three points.
Prior to that, Alvaro Pacheco's men were on a two-game losing run in the league, suffering a humbling 4-0 defeat at the hands of title-chasing Porto on December 19 before losing 2-0 away to Maritimo nine days later.
However, sandwiched between the two defeats, Vizela sent defending champions Braga packing from the Taca de Portugal when they secured a 1-0 victory courtesy of Nuno Moreira's ninth-minute strike on December 23.
After managing one win from their opening 12 Primeira Liga games, Vizela have now picked up two from their last four games to rise to 12th place in the table, level on 16 points with Boavista.
Meanwhile, Moreirense were sent crashing back down to earth last time out when they were beaten 2-1 by a resurgent Tondela side away from home.
In a thrilling contest at the Estadio Joao Cardoso, Rafael Martins broke the deadlock midway through the first half to hand the visitors a one-goal lead heading into half time, but the hosts upped the ante after the break as Daniel dos Anjos pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 63rd minute, before Manu completed the comeback in the 11th minute of injury time.
This followed a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Estoril Praia at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on December 28, when Martins's first-half strike saw their three-game losing streak come to an end.
Moreirense have won two, drawn six and lost eight of their 16 matches this season to collect 12 points, which has left them in the relegation playoff spot, one point below Santa Clara in safety.
A lack of defensive sturdiness has been a major reason for their struggles so far as Os verdes e brancos have managed just one clean sheet since a goalless draw with Maritimo on October 1, shipping 17 goals in 11 goals since then.
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- D
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Pacheco remains unable to call upon the services of 33-year-old midfielder Claudemir, who picked up a muscle injury back in November's game against Estoril Praia.
Ivanildo Fernandes is another name on the Vizela injury table after the Portuguese defender sustained a groin problem against Braga on November 30.
The Ivory Coast duo of midfielder Hugues Evrard Zagbayou and defender Koffi Frank Kouao will also play no part in the game after recently testing positive for COVID-19.
However, the Vizelenses will be boosted by the return of 22-year-old midfielder Nuno Moreira, who has now served his suspension after receiving his marching orders against Maritimo on December 28.
Meanwhile, Moreirense have confirmed the dismissal of manager Lito Vidagal after a poor string of results, with former Braga coach Ricardo Sa Pinto set to take over the reins in the coming days after overseeing preparations ahead of Saturday's game.
On the injury front, the visitors will be without 22-year-old full-back Godfried Frimpong, who has been out of action since September through a severe injury.
Braga loanee Pablo Santos also continues his spell on the sidelines through injury while midfielder Sori Mane is on international duty with Guinea-Bissau at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Charles; Kouao, Wilson, Aidara, Ofori; Zagbayou, Paulo; Mendez, Samu, Moreira; Cassiano
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Kewin; Conceicao, Rosic, Vitoria, Conte; Jambor, Mane; Pires, Soares, Walterson; Luis
We say: Vizela 2-1 Moreirense
Despite struggling for consistency, Vizela have been pretty decent on home turf, picking up three wins and one draw from five matches in all competitions. The visitors, on the other hand, are without a league win away from home this season and we predict the hosts will capitalize on this poor run and claim all three points, albeit by the odd goal.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
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 Vizela win with a probability of 37.24%. A win for Moreirense had a probability of 34.42% and a draw had a probability of 28.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Vizela win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.81%) and 2-0 (6.96%). The likeliest Moreirense win was 0-1 (11.23%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.24%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with an 11.2% likelihood.
