The standalone match on Sunday in the Primeira Liga will see relegation candidates Vizela taking on Casa Pia at Estadio Do Vizela.
With eight games left to go in the season, the hosts are currently on 21 points and are in 17th place in the league standings, while the visitors are in 11th place with 27 points.
Match preview
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While these two sides were separated by just a single point in mid-table last season, this term Vizela have experienced a significant drop-off and head into gameweek 27 as the first side below the dotted line.
Vizelenses went into the international break off the back of a 4-1 defeat to Porto at Estadio Do Dragao, marking their 13th loss of the campaign, leaving them two points behind Portimonense in the relegation playoff spot and four points from outright safety.
Since replacing Pablo Villar, who was axed just 18 matches into his tenure back in December, Ruben de la Barrera has delivered a mixed bag of results, posting a record of two wins, four draws and six losses in his first 12 league games in charge.
While the new manager's record to date has not been as impressive as he would have hoped, he has helped his side take four points from their last two home games, drawing with Estoril and beating Farense, which is only the second time this season that the hosts have avoided defeat in back-to-back games at Estadio Do Vizela.
De la Barrera will need to keep building on that record as we enter the run-in if he is to pull Vizelenses clear of the drop, and will gain some confidence heading into this match from the fact that one of his side's four wins this season came against this opponent in the reverse fixture back in November.
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That loss to Vizela last year marked the fifth match on the bounce in which Casa Pia failed to beat this opponent, and during that run, they only scored a single point while losing the other four encounters.
Casa Pia's last victory against Vizelenses came way back in September 2020. They have been outscored 9-3 during their current winless streak and failed to find the net in the last two meetings between the sides.
Like their opponents, Os Gansos have seen a change of leadership this season with Goncalo Santos taking over in mid-February, but after claiming consecutive wins in his first two games, the side is now winless in their last three, including back-to-back defeats against Estrela and Benfica leading up to the international break.
Interestingly, though, the visitors have done their best work on the road this season and are a top-half side in terms of away records, with 17 points taken from 13 games, while at home, they have only managed 10 points in 13 games, which is the second-worst record in the division.
With 27 points in 26 games, Casa Pia are still too close to the bottom three for comfort, but a win here will give them some much-needed momentum ahead of a couple of winnable fixtures against Estoril and Portimonense in the next two gameweeks.
Team News
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Vizela will have to make do without the services of Venezuelan winger Matias Lacava, who will be forced into a watching brief, having been sent off in the 4-1 loss to Os Dragoes before the international break.
The only other absentee for Vizelenses in this match is goalkeeper Francesco Ruberto, who has not featured due to a muscle injury since their defeat to Benfica last month, meaning that Fabijan Buntic should continue between the sticks this weekend.
Casa Pia will be able to welcome back Brazilian central midfielder Neto for this match following his two-match suspension for the accumulation of 10 yellow cards for the season.
In terms of injuries, Kiki Silva is the only player listed as out for this match, although he has missed the majority of games this season already and is expected to remain sidelined for the remainder of the campaign as well.
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Buntic; Silva, Goncalves, Escoval, Lebedenko; Costa, Soro; Petrov, Samu, Lokilo; Essende
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Zolotic, Varela, Tchamba; Larrazabal, Segovia, Neto, Roberto, Lelo; Moreira, Cardoso
We say: Vizela 1-1 Casa Pia
While Vizela have a very good recent record against this opponent, it is hard to back them with any real confidence this season, especially when taking into account that they currently possess the worst home record in the division. Casa Pia, on the other hand, have earned the bulk of their points on the road this term, and we feel they will come away from this one with a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
