Two sides in need of a pick-me-up square off on Saturday when Estoril Praia and Moreirense square off at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota in round 33 of the Primeira Liga.
While the hosts will head into the game looking to snap their six-game winless run, a victory for Os verdes e brancos could see them move out of the automatic relegation places.
Match preview
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Estoril Praia failed to find their feet in the Primeira Liga last Friday when they suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Famalicao at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao.
Adrian Marin and Heriberto Tavares scored to put the hosts two goals up and after Rui Fonte pulled one back in the 68th minute, substitute Junior Kadile scored in the 94th minute to restore the Vila Nova's two-goal advantage.
Bruno Pinheiro's men have now failed to taste victory in any of their last six outings, picking up just two points from a possible 18 since claiming a 2-0 win over Portimonense on March 12.
Estoril Praia have picked up eight wins, 12 draws and lost 12 of their 32 games this season to collect 36 points and sit 10th in the Primeira Liga standings, level on points with 11th-placed Boavista.
The Canarinhos' major struggles have come on home turf, where they currently hold the division's fourth-worst record with just three wins and 17 points from 16 games.
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Moreirense, on the other hand, suffered a huge blow in their race to beat the drop last time out when they fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Boavista on home turf.
In a heated contest at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas, Kenji Gorre and Petar Musa scored either side of Rafael Martins's 88th-minute equaliser to hand the visitors all three points.
Os verdes e brancos have now lost eight of their last 11 outings, picking up seven points from a possible 33, while scoring seven goals and conceding 17 in that time.
With 26 points from 32 games, Moreirense are currently 17th in the league standings, one point above rock-bottom Belenenses and four adrift of Arouca just outside the relegation zone.
While Ricardo Sa Pinto's men must avoid any slip-ups in their final two games to keep their slim survival hopes alive, next up is the daunting task of taking on Estoril Praia at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota, where they have failed to win six of their last seven visits since 2011, losing five games in that time.
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Team News
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Estoril Praia will take to the pitch without the services of Nahuel Ferraresi after the Manchester City loanee received an early bath in last Friday's game against Famalicao.
On the injury front, Pinheiro will be unable to call upon the duo of Ruben Providence and Lucas Africo, who have been ruled out through ankle and knee injuries respectively.
Meanwhile, Moreirense will be without Portuguese defender Paulinho Mota after the 30-year-old was shown a red card in the game against Boavista on Sunday.
Kevin Mirallas is also out of contention for Sa Pinto's side after coming off with a muscle injury just 39 minutes into the game against Os Axadrezados.
In the absence of the former Everton man, 21-year-old midfielder Goncalo Franco could be handed his 10th start of the season, teaming up with Pedro Amador, Jefferson Junior, and Ruben Ramos at the centre of the park.
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Bruno, Silva, Vital, Joaozinho; Gamboa, Geraldes; Carvalho, Gomes, Mboula; Fonte
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Pasinato; Frimpong, Rosic, Santos, Silva; Mane; Junior, Amador, Ramos, Franco; Martins
We say: Estoril Praia 1-2 Moreirense
Moreirense have endured an underwhelming campaign so far and find themselves in the drop zone with two games left to play. However, they take on an out-of-sorts Estoril Praia side who are winless in six consecutive outings and we predict they will come away with all three points to keep their survival hopes alive.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Estoril Praia win with a probability of 46.71%. A win for Moreirense had a probability of 26.93% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Estoril Praia win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.08%) and 2-0 (8.77%). The likeliest Moreirense win was 0-1 (8.6%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.49%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Estoril Praia in this match.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a Estoril Praia win with a probability of 46.71%. A win for Moreirense has a probability of 26.93% and a draw has a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline is Estoril Praia 1-1 Moreirense with a probability of 12.49% and the second most likely scoreline is Estoril Praia 1-0 Moreirense with a probability of 12.07%.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
