Estoril Praia will be hoping to record back-to-back Primeira Liga wins for the first time this season when they take on a stuttering Casa Pia side at Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota on Friday evening.
Both sides have experienced fairly poor starts to the league season, with the hosts currently occupying the relegation playoff spot after 10 matches, while the visitors are just three places above them in 13th.
Match preview
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After spending a large chunk of last season involved in the relegation scrap, this season looks to be shaping up to be another dogfight for Estoril, who have already lost seven of their first 10 league fixtures.
Their performances over the early stages of the campaign contributed heavily to the sacking of Alvaro Pacheco after just eight matches in charge, with Vasco Seabra emerging as his replacement.
Unfortunately, the new boss was unable to make an immediate impact, losing each of his first three matches in the hot seat, but after pulling off a huge upset last week, Pacheco will be hoping his side have reached something of a turning point in the season.
The Canaries secured an against-the-odds 1-0 victory over Porto last weekend, with Jordan Holsgrove scoring the only goal of the match in the second half to snap up a seven-match winless run that included six losses.
Notably, though, the hosts relied heavily on the counter-attack against the Dragons, registering just 30% possession with two shots on target, and it will be interesting to see how they fare here on their home patch, where they will need to rely on their creativity in order to find gaps in behind the opposing defence.
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Meanwhile, Casa Pia enjoyed a very successful first season in the top flight last term when they finished 10th, and while the current campaign has not gone exactly according to plan just yet, a win here could propel them into the top 11, with the mid-table still being fairly compact.
For now, though, the Casapianos are closer to the wrong end of the table with just 10 points taken in as many games, which leaves them three points above the drop zone and with a tricky run of fixtures to come on either side of the next international break.
Felipe Martins's side come into this match off the back of a 1-0 home defeat to 14th-placed Vizela, marking their fifth consecutive league match without a win, including three losses and two draws.
Nevertheless, these are the types of matches that Os Gansos have to win in order to open up some daylight between themselves and the relegation candidates and based on their away record this term, it would not be a total surprise if they take the points here.
The visitors have earned eight of their 10 points on the road this season with victories over Farense and Arouca, while they also held Benfica to a well-deserved 1-1 draw in their last outing.
Team News
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Seabra will be without the services of central defensive duo Eliaquim Mangala (muscle) and Erick Cabaco (knee), with both players still on the treatment table for at least another few weeks.
Pedro Alvaro and Bernardo Vital should continue as the starting partnership in their absence, with Volnei and Tiago Araujo expected to make up the full-back pairing.
Joao Marques and Alejandro Marques are the side's top scorers with three apiece and are almost certain to keep their places at the top end of the pitch.
The visitors also have two absentees for this crucial encounter, with Kiki Silva and Rafael Brito both ruled out due to muscle injuries.
With his side only scoring one goal in their last five league games, Martins may be tempted to return top-scorer Clayton to the starting lineup, potentially in place of Felippe Cardoso or Jaja.
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Carne; Volnei, Alvaro, Vital, Araujo; Holsgrove, Fernandes; Gomes, Guitane, J. Marques; A. Marques
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Varela, Zolotic, Nunes; Larrazabal, Pablo, Neto, Lelo; Jaja, Clayton, Soma
We say: Estoril Praia 1-1 Casa Pia
The hosts will be brimming with confidence heading into this match after claiming a massive three points last week, which saw them move off the foot of the table. However, they now face a Casa Pia side that have earned the majority of their points on the road and possess the best defensive record outside of the top three teams in the league.
This looks like a very even contest in the making, and we feel these sides will end up sharing the spoils at the full-time whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Devesh Jaganath
