Seeking to avoid a third consecutive defeat in all competitions, Pacos de Ferreira play host to Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio Capital do Movel on Sunday.
The visitors, meanwhile, have lost each of their last three outings away from home and will be looking to snap this run and continue their charge for the Conference League qualification places.
Match preview
© Reuters
Pacos de Ferreira failed to arrest their slump in form last Sunday as they fell to a disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of struggling Maritimo away from home.
In an end-to-end contest at the Estadio do Maritimo, Joel Tagueu broke the deadlock four minutes into the second half to put the hosts in front before Stefano Beltrame doubled the lead in the 78th minute to make sure of all three points.
Prior to that, Pacos de Ferreira saw their four-game unbeaten run come to an end courtesy of a 2-0 loss against Sporting Lisbon on November 7 before crashing out of the Taca de Portugal following a 4-1 defeat against high-flying Benfica nearly two weeks later.
Jorge Simao's men have now failed to pick up a win in any of their most recent eight league outings, claiming five draws and losing three since a narrow 1-0 victory over Portimonense on August 29.
This poor run of results has seen Pacos de Ferreira drop into the bottom half of the Primeira Liga table as they currently occupy 12th place, level on 11 points with Boavista.
Their struggles so far can be underpinned by their struggles at the attacking end of the pitch, where they boast the division's second-worst record with just nine goals in 12 outings.
Meanwhile, Vitoria de Guimaraes failed to return to winning ways last time out when they were beaten 2-1 by high-flying Porto at the Estadio do Dragao.
In a game where Abdul Mumin received his marching orders, Marcus Edwards calmly converted from 12 yards to put the visitors ahead but goals from Luis Diaz and Evanilson helped the 29-time champions turn the game on its head and secure all three points.
This followed a 3-2 defeat against Moreirense at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas which saw them crash out of the Taca de Portugal.
Despite the defeat, manager Pepa will take the positives from his side's resilient display against a significantly stronger Porto side and hope that performance can serve as a catalyst for a solid run of form as they look to move into the top five places.
With 16 points from 12 outings, Vitoria de Guimaraes are currently seventh in the log, five points behind Estoril Praia in the final Conference League qualification spot.
- D
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- D
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- L
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Pacos de Ferreira's only concern on the injury front remains Joao Vigario, after the Portuguese defender sustained a severe knee problem back in August.
Despite his side's recent defensive frailties, we expect Simao to name an unchanged backline on Sunday, meaning we could see Vitorino Antunes, Maracas, Flavio Ramos and Fernando Fonseca shielding Andre Ferreira between the sticks.
With just one goal scored in their last three outings, some changes could be made in attack with Joao Pedro Silva potentially dropping to the bench having failed to find the target in seven straight games.
Meanwhile, Vitoria de Guimaraes will take to the pitch without the services of Toni Borevkovic, who sustained a muscle injury in October's game against Sporting Lisbon.
Ghanaian defender Abdul Mumin will play no part in this game as he serves his suspension after receiving his marching orders against Porto last time out.
In his absence, we could see Portuguese centre-back Jorge Fernandes come in for his fourth start of the season after a decent 30-minute cameo in the aforementioned game.
Pacos de Ferreira possible starting lineup:
Vekic; Antunes, Maracas, Ramos, Fonseca; Pires, Ibrahim, Santos; Delgado, Ze Uilton, Denilson
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Soares, Fernandes, Amaro, Ferreira; Almeida, Handel, Janvier; Edwards, Duarte, Rochinha
We say: Pacos de Ferreira 1-1 Vitoria de Guimaraes
After a fine start to the season, Pacos de Ferreira have fallen off the pace in recent weeks as they are without a win in each of their last six games. They have managed just one win since August 29, when they saw off Portimonense and this poor run of results has seen them drop into the bottom half of the table. However, the visitors have struggled to get going on the road this term, picking up one win from six games and we predict the spoils will be shared in this one.
Top tip
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 Pacos de Ferreira win with a probability of 35.53%. A win for Vitoria de Guimaraes had a probability of 34.7% and a draw had a probability of 29.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Pacos de Ferreira win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.81%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.21%) and 2-0 (6.85%). The likeliest Vitoria de Guimaraes win was 0-1 (12.61%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.48%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood.
