Round 23 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga comes to an end on Monday when Casa Pia and Pacos de Ferreira go head to head at the Estadio Pina Manique.
Having picked up a 3-2 victory in September's reverse fixture, Os Gansos will be looking to complete an impressive league double over the visitors and resume their quest for a place in Europe.
Match preview
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Casa Pia failed to arrest their slump in form as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Arouca when the sides squared off at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca last Saturday.
In a game where Beni Mukendi received his marching orders, substitute Rafa Mujica broke the deadlock in the 81st minute before grabbing his second of the game in the third minute of stoppage time.
Casa Pia have now failed to win any of their last five matches across all competitions, picking up two draws and losing three, including a disappointing 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Nacional in the Taca de Portugal quarter-finals on February 9.
Filipe Martins's men head into Monday on a run of four consecutive league matches without a goal — their longest run of successive games without finding the target since also failing to score in four straight games in December 2019.
A lack of cutting edge at the attacking end of the pitch has been a major challenge for Os Gansos, whose side have scored just 18 goals so far — this is joint-fewest number of goals scored among the teams above the relegation zone.
For all their recent struggles, Casa Pia are currently seventh in the Primeira Liga standings with 32 points from 22 matches, five points adrift of Vitoria de Guimaraes in the final Europa Conference League qualification spot.
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Pacos de Ferreira, on the other hand, were denied consecutive home wins for the first time since August 2021 as they suffered a 3-1 defeat against Boavista at the Estadio Capital do Movel last Sunday.
Despite being under the cosh for most of the game, Yusupha Njie, Ricardo Mangas and Kenji Gorre scored successive goals to put Petit's men in a commanding three-goal lead before Adrian Butzke reduced the deficit in the 61st minute.
Cesar Peixoto's men, who beat Gil Vicente 2-1 on January 31 to record their first home win of the season, are now winless in 12 of their 13 games at the Estadio Capital do Movel this season, losing nine and claiming three draws across all competitions.
While home has not been where the heart is for the Pacenses this season, they have put together a fine run of form away from home this year, picking up two wins in their three matches, with a 1-0 loss at Portimonense on February 6 being the exception.
With 12 points from 22 matches, Pacos de Ferreira are currently rooted to the bottom of the Primeira Liga table, 10 points behind Estoril Praia in safety and four behind 16th-placed Maritimo in the relegation playoff spot.
Team News
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Casa Pia will take to the pitch without 20-year-old midfielder Mukendi, who will serve a one-match suspension after picking up a red card against Arouca last time out.
In his absence, the more experienced Afonso Taira, who has made 21 Primeira Liga appearances this season, should come into the fold, teaming up with Pelegrinelli Neto at the centre of park.
On the injury front, Martins will be unable to call upon the services of Corinthians loanee Leo Natel, who has been sidelined since picking up an ACL injury in November.
Off the back of an injury-free outing against Boavista, Pacos de Ferreira boasts a clean bill of health and we expect Peixoto to name his strongest possible XI on Monday.
With his strike against Petit's side, Butzke has now scored in three of his last four matches and we expect the Granada loanee to spearhead the visitors' attack, alongside Hernani Infande and 22-year-old Nigel Thomas.
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Varela, Fernandes, Zolotic; Soares, Taira, Neto, Poloni; Baro, Clayton, Soma
Pacos de Ferreira possible starting lineup:
Marafona; Delgado, Lima, Maracas, Antunes; Pires, Carlos, Holsgrove; Thomas, Infande, Butzke
We say: Casa Pia 1-1 Pacos de Ferreira
While Pacos de Ferreira continue their relegation dogfight, Casa Pia head into Monday looking to get their quest for a place in Europe back on track. The Pacenses showed flashes of brilliance in last Sunday's loss to Boavista and we are backing them to hold out for a share of the spoils against the out-of-sorts hosts
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
