Seeking to snap their four-game winless run and resume their surge from the relegation zone, Belenenses take a trip to the Estadio de Sao Miguel to face Santa Clara on Saturday.
The Azoreans, on the other hand, head into the game unbeaten in each of their last seven home games since early November and will be aiming to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Match preview
© Reuters
Santa Clara were denied a second consecutive victory for just the second time this season last weekend when they were held to a goalless draw by a rejuvenated Famalicao side.
In a cagey affair at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao, the Azoreans were guilty of being toothless at the attacking end of the pitch as they failed to snap their four-game winless run away from home.
Prior to that, Mario Silva's side picked up their first win in five games when they claimed an impressive 3-1 victory over Vizela at the Estadio de Sao Miguel on March 6.
Having opened the season with one win and seven defeats in 12 games and looking like relegation candidates, Santa Clara have turned things around in recent weeks and currently sit in 10th place in the Primeira Liga standings, level on 30 points with ninth-place Pacos de Ferreira.
This has been owing to their impressive form on home turf as they head into Saturday's game unbeaten in seven consecutive home games, claiming five wins and two draws since a 3-0 loss against Porto on November 7.
© Reuters
Meanwhile, Belenenses were involved in a share of the spoils for the second game running last time out as they played out a goalless draw with Boavista.
This followed a 1-1 draw at Tondela on March 7, when Manu put the hosts ahead shortly after the half-hour mark before Abel Camara struck in the 63rd minute to level matters.
Franclim Carvalho's men have now failed to taste victory in four straight games, losing two and claiming two draws, while picking up just two wins in 12 games since the turn of the year.
With 17 points from 26 games, Belenenses are currently rooted to the bottom of the league standings, five points adrift of Arouca just outside the relegation zone.
While O Belem will look to return to winning ways this weekend, they have endured a woeful run away from home, where they are yet to pick up a win and currently boast the division's poorest record with just five point from 13 games.
- D
- L
- D
- D
- W
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Santa Clara remain without Portuguese midfielder Costinha, who has been out of action since last August through an Achilles tendon injury.
Kennedy Boateng, who has made 19 appearances this season, is also a major doubt for the Azoreans after he was hooked off injured on the hour mark against Famalicao last time out.
Despite failing to come away with all three points against the Vila Nova, we expect Silva to name a similar XI on Saturday, meaning we should see an attacking quartet of Ricardinho, Lincoln, Crysan and Rui Costa.
On the other hand, Carvalho will be unable to call upon South African midfielder Thibang Phete, who is currently recuperating from a groin problem.
He is joined on the O Belem injury table by Portuguese youngster Nilton Varela after the 20-year-old defender came off injured versus Sporting Lisbon on February 2.
Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Pereira; Ramos, Tassano, Villanueva, Mansur; Carvalho, Morita; Ricardinho, Crysan, Lincoln; Costa
Belenenses possible starting lineup:
Felipe; Carraca, Akas, Tavares, Calila; Baraye, Danny, Braima; Sousa, Safira, Camara
We say: Santa Clara 2-0 Belenenses
Belenenses find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table majorly down to their struggles away from home this season. Now they go up against an opposing side who are unbeaten in seven straight games and boast the league's sixth-best home record. While we expect O Belem to put up a fight, we are backing Santa Clara to ride on their home crowd support and come away with all three points.
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 Santa Clara win with a probability of 52.35%. A draw had a probability of 25.7% and a win for Belenenses had a probability of 21.92%.
The most likely scoreline for a Santa Clara win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.38%) and 2-1 (9.28%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.08%), while for a Belenenses win it was 0-1 (7.87%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with an 8.8% likelihood.