In the first round of fixtures of the new Primeira Liga season, Estoril Praia will play host to Famalicao on Saturday.

The two sides finished level on points in the top flight last year, with the visitors just pipping their opponents to eighth place on goal difference.

Match preview

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Estoril Praia had a relatively mixed season in the Primeira Liga last time around, as they returned to the top flight after a stint in Portugal's second tier.

The Canarinhos put themselves in the top six with 18 points from their opening nine outings but were unable to sustain that form, winning just three of their next 23 league outings, having experienced several long slumps in that period of the top-fight season.

A 1-0 win over Moreirense, courtesy of Andre Franco's goal, in the penultimate round of fixtures was enough to secure a top-half finish for the newly-promoted outfit, despite a final-day defeat away at already-crowned champions Porto.

Looking ahead to the new season, Estoril have a major change in their camp, as Bruno Pinheiro, who guided the club to promotion back to the Primeira Liga, has departed over the summer, with former Benfica caretaker manager Nelson Verissimo now taking charge.

With their pre-season preparations complete, the Canarinhos will now aim to begin the campaign with a first competitive win under the new boss in their bid for another comfortable finish this time around.

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Famalicao, meanwhile, enter their fourth consecutive season in the Primeira Liga having come in the top half in three consecutive years.

Hoping to build on their ninth-placed finish from the previous term, Fama looked set to fall short last season as they sat on 30 points from 31 outings, but Rui Pedro Silva's side staged an impressive climb in the final run.

They broke a seven-game winless run by beating Saturday's opponents 3-1, before scoring a narrow victory away at Belenenses, leaving their chance of a top-half finish resting on a difficult final-day contest against Braga.

Trailing 2-0 before half time, Fama's hopes of a result looked all but gone, but Simon Banza halved the deficit, and Bruno Rodrigues hit the leveller with 10 minutes to go, before Banza sealed all three points with his second of the game in the dying embers.

With that result sealing a top-nine place after their late charge from lower mid-table, having leapfrogged their first opponents of the new term, Silva's side will aim to start positively on Saturday as they look to further establish themselves at the right end of Portugal's top tier.

Team News

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Estoril Praia head into the new season with a changed squad, as the likes of Rui Fonte, Joao Gamboa, Carles Soria and Leonardo Ruiz have all departed, while key defender Nahuel Ferraresi's loan deal from Manchester City has come to an end.

Meanwhile, James Lea Siliki, Mor Ndiaye, Tiago Araujo, Pedro Alvaro and Alejandro Marques have arrived alongside others and could be gradually phased in by Verissimo over the coming weeks.

Andre Franco remains a key man for the Canarinhos, having scored 11 goals from midfield last season.

Famalicao's most notable absence heading into the new season is midfielder Charles Pickel, who left for the third-highest fee in the club's history over the summer to join Serie A outfit Cremonese.

Silva has bolstered his squad with several signings, though, as Andre Simoes, Theo Fonseca and Martin Aguirregabiria have all come through the door alongside striker Rui Fonte, who may make his Fama debut on Saturday against the club he recently joined from.

With the loan deal of last season's top scorer Simon Banza coming to an end, Fama will have to find another source of goals, and Fonte may be heavily relied upon together with the likes of Heriberto Tavares.

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Silva; Esteves, Alvaro, Vital, Joaozinho; Geraldes, Franco, Siliki; Gouveia, Marques, Araujo

Famalicao possible starting lineup:
Zlobin; Penetra, Riccieli, Queiros; Aguirrebagiria, Simoes, Ofori, Beck; Tavares, Fonte, Fonseca

We say: Estoril Praia 1-1 Famalicao

Last season showed these two sides are evenly matched, and, both going through major squad changes, we do not envisage either making a blistering start to the season with a dominant performance.

Ultimately, we opt for a share of the spoils which should be relatively pleasing for each team as they look to settle into the new term.

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

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