Preview: Casa Pia vs Alverca - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh off the back of reaching the Taca de Portugal round-of -16, Casa Pia return to action in the Portuguese Primeira Liga when they go head to head with Alverca on Saturday.

Both sides find themselves separated by just two points at the wrong end of the table, and we anticipate a fierce battle at the Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior as they look to turn their fortunes around this weekend.

Match preview

Casa Pia continued their fine run of results in the Taca de Portugal as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over Alpendora last Saturday to reach the cup round-of-16 for a second consecutive season.

In a one-sided affair at the Estadio Municipal de Alpendorada, Abdu Conte, Sebastian Perez and Jeremy Livolant found the back of the net as Casa Pia turned in an attacking show of class to neatly dispatch the Campeonato de Portugal outfit.

While Casa Pia have flown out of the blocks in the cup, their form in the Primeira Liga continues to raise concerns, with Os Gansos failing to taste victory in any of their six matches, losing three and claiming three draws since a 2-0 victory over Arouca on September 14.

However, head coach Goncalo Brandao will hope that his side can draw inspiration from their dogged display against Benfica in their most recent league outing on November 9, when they fought back from two goals down to rescue a 2-2 draw at Estadio da Luz.

Eleven games into the new campaign, Casa Pia find themselves 15th in the Primeira Liga standings, level on nine points with Arouca in the relegation playoff spot and two points behind this weekend’s visitors in 14th place.

Like the home side, Alverca failed to find their feet last time out, as they could only salvage a 1-1 draw against Rio Ave when the two teams squared off at the Complexo Desportivo FC Alverca.

Clayton opened the scoring in the 35th minute to put Rio Ave on course to back-to-back away wins for the first time since January, but substitute Sandro Lima netted in the 77th minute to force a share of the spoils.

While it was two more points dropped, the comeback against Rio Ave was a much-needed positive result for Alverca, who had lost each of their previous four games, a run which saw them crash out of both the Taca de Portugal and Taca da Liga in October.

Seven of Custodio Castro’s side’s 11 points have come in front of their home supporters, meaning that they will need to be at their best this weekend, as they journey to the Estadio Municipal de Rio Maior on a run of just one win from their seven away games this season.

Having gained promotion to the top flight for the first time in club history last term, Alverca now go up against a Casa Pia side whom they have met only once, which came in a friendly back in August, when Os Gansos secured a thrilling 3-2 victory.

Casa Pia Primeira Liga form:

Casa Pia form (all competitions):

Alverca Primeira Liga form:

Alverca form (all competitions):

Team News

Casa Pia will take to the pitch without 24-year-old defender David Sousa, who is set to serve a one-game suspension after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Benfica on November 9.

On the injury front, Os Gansos remain without the attacking duo of Kiki Silva and 24-year-old Claudio Mendes, who have been ruled out through knee problems.

Defender Duplexe Tchamba has been ruled out since picking up an injury back in September, while Spanish forward Max Svensson is also set to sit out his sixth consecutive game.

Alverca have their fair share of injury concerns, as the likes of Chiquinho, Leo Chu and Spanish midfielder Tomas Mendes and goalkeeper Andre Paulo all continue their spells on the sidelines.

Nigerian defender Isaac James has been out of action since picking up an injury against Santa Clara in September, while 24-year-old Figueiredo has missed the last three games since coming off injured against Gil Vicente on October 24.

Casa Pia possible starting lineup:

Sequeira; Rocha, Fonte, Goulart; Larrazabal, Perez, Brito, Geraldes; Livolant, Cassiano, Nsona

Alverca possible starting lineup:

A Gomes; Naves, S Gomez, Meupiyou; Touaizi, Abdulai, Amorim, Chissumba; Lincoln, Milovanovic, Nuozzi

We say: Casa Pia 2-0 Alverca

Casa Pia and Alverca find themselves separated by just two points at the wrong end of the table in what has been a challenging start to the season, and both sides will be looking to kick-start an upturn in form this weekend.

Buoyed by their dominant cup victory, Os Gansos will head into the weekend in high spirits, and we predict that they will make the most of their home advantage against Alverca, who have failed to win six of their seven games on the road since gaining promotion to the top flight.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.