Estrela Amadora will attempt to remain clear of the Primeira Liga relegation zone when they travel to face Vizela at Estadio Do Vizela on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts will see out the final two games of the season as a formality after their fate was confirmed last weekend, while the visitors are just two points above the drop.
Match preview
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After a dismal campaign, Vizela saw their relegation to Liga Portugal II confirmed in gameweek 32 when they suffered their 18th league defeat of the season, beaten 1-0 by last season's promotion winners Moreirense.
That result brought an end to a three-season stint in the top flight for Vizelenses and marked their seventh consecutive league match without victory, including six losses and a 1-1 draw against Rio Ave.
With 22 points, they now trail second-bottom Chaves by one point and Portimonense in the relegation playoff spot by six. Even if all three clubs end the season on 28 points, Vizela will still end bottom since, in the duels between the three teams, the men from Portimao have 10 points, the Flavians six, and the Minhotos one.
Ruben de la Barrera's second match in charge after taking over from Pablo Villar in December was against this opponent and ended 1-1, but the new boss failed to steer the side to safety from then on, managing just two wins, five draws and 11 losses across his 18 games at the helm.
With this being Vizela's final home game of the season, they will want to give their home fans something to cheer, although they have failed to win their last three at Estadio Do Vizela and have only emerged victorious twice in 16 games on home soil.
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Meanwhile, Estrela Amadora is the only of the three newly promoted teams still fighting for survival at this late stage of the season. However, if they win this match and Portimonense fails to beat Rio Ave, their top-flight status will be guaranteed.
The Tricolores played out a 0-0 draw against Arouca last weekend, marking their fourth drawn game in their last five and their seventh consecutive league match without victory dating back to the start of March.
That result was also Sergio Vieira's side fourth away draw on the bounce and extended their winless streak on the road to 12 matches. Estrela have only won one of their 16 away games across the season - a 1-0 win against Casa Pia back in October.
While three points will undoubtedly be the target, the visitors will likely settle for a point here, which should keep them out the drop heading into the final week when they face Gil Vicente at home, while Portimonense will have a difficult trip to Estadio de Sao Luis to contend with.
Team News
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Sava Petrov's last match for Vizela was in their 1-0 loss to Chaves on April 15, when he sustained a serious cruciate ligament injury, and he is now facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines, which will likely see him miss the start of next season as well.
The only other injury absentee for the hosts in this match is Bruno Costa, who is recovering from a muscle injury, and he is not expected to return before the end of the current campaign.
Estrela are also down two players due to injury, with Gustavo Henrique (meniscus tear) and Diogo Fonseca (knock) both ruled out for the final two games of the league season.
The club's top-scorer Kikas has netted four goals in his last eight games and will be hoping to return to the starting 11 after being dropped for Rodrigo Pinho in the 0-0 draw to Arouca last weekend.
Vizela possible starting lineup:
Ruberto; Silva, Goncalves, Anderson, Lebedenko; Nascimento, Sasmu; Soro, Quina, Lokilo; Essende
Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:
Brigido; Mansur, Mendes, Santos; Felipe, Bucca, De Souza, Nilton; Luiz, Kikas, Jaba
We say: Vizela 1-1 Estrela Amadora
While Vizela are playing only for pride from here on, Estrela's relegation battle is still ongoing, and they will know that this is about the best opponent they could have chosen to face in the penultimate match of the season. However, the Tricolores have struggled mightily to win on the road, drawing each of their last four, and we feel they will end up taking only a point from this one as well.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
