Saturday's Primeira Liga fixtures kick off with Maritimo and Pacos de Ferreira going head to head in a thrilling bottom-of-the-table clash at the Estadio do Maritimo.
Currently separated by just two points in the relegation zone, we anticipate a thrilling battle ensuing between the two sides as they push for survival.
Match preview
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Maritimo were sent crashing back to earth in their race to beat the drop as they suffered a 1-0 defeat against Arouca at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca last Saturday.
Former Las Palmas striker Rafa Mujica continued his fine form in front of goal as he scored the only goal of the game shortly after the half-hour mark to hand the Arouquenses their third win in four home games.
Jose Manuel Gomes's side had rekindled their survival hopes on April 2, when they turned in a superb team performance to claim a 4-2 win over Boavista and end their run of three consecutive defeats.
Maritimo have now lost 18 of their 27 games while picking up five wins and four draws to collect 19 points and sit 16th in the Primeira Liga table, two points and one place above Saturday's visitors.
O Maior das Ilhas now return to the Estadio do Maritimo, where they are on a run of four wins in their last five league clashes with Pacos de Ferreira, with a 3-0 loss in January 2021 being the exception.
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Cesar Peixoto's men, meanwhile, were on the receiving end of a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Famalicao when the sides squared off at the Estadio Capital do Movel last weekend.
Jhonder Cadiz restored parity seven minutes after Hernani Ifande's 34th-minute opener to force a first-half draw before Ivan Jaime netted a second-half brace to turn the game on its head.
The Pacenses have now failed to win five of their last six outings since mid-February — losing three and claiming two draws — with their only victory in that time coming on March 11 when they edged out fellow strugglers Santa Clara 1-0 on home turf.
Having finished 11th in the league last season, Pacos de Ferreira's underwhelming campaign has been owing to their lack of cutting-edge in attack, where they are the division's second-worst side with just 20 goals scored so far.
While Peixoto's side have also failed to score in 12 of their 27 games, they have already conceded 46 goals, two more than last season's total conceded in the league (44).
Pacos de Ferreira will follow Saturday's game with a more challenging battle against title-chasing Porto and will head into the weekend looking find their feet in time for that contest.
Team News
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Maritimo will take to the pitch without Czech Republic goalkeeper Matous Trmal, who has been sidelined since early-December through a severe injury.
Jesus Ramirez scored the only goal of the game to put Pacos de Ferreira to the sword in October's reverse fixture and the 24-year-old will be looking to deliver the goods once again
Pacos de Ferreira remain without first-choice goalkeeper Jose Marafona, who is currently suspended after picking up a straight red against Vitoria de Guimaraes on April 1.
Igor Vekic should start between the Pacenses' goal for the second consecutive game, with Jorge Silva, Nuno Lima, Maracas and Vitorino Antunes forming the back four once again
Infande was forced off with a first-half injury against Famalicao last Saturday and the Guinea-Bissau man, who joined on loan from Braga in January, is a major doubt for this weekend's clash.
Should he fail to shake off his injury, 22-year-old Nigel Thomas could be handed his 19th league start, teaming up with Nicolas Gaitan and Alexandre Guedes in the final third.
Maritimo possible starting lineup:
Carne; Mota, Junior, Santos, Costa; Winck, Soares, Brito, Xadas; Vidigal, Correia
Pacos de Ferreira possible starting lineup:
Vekic; Silva, Lima, Maracas, Antunes; Bernardo, Pires, Holsgrove; Thomas, Gaitan, Guedes
We say: Maritimo 1-1 Pacos de Ferreira
Given the stakes of this game, we predict that Maritimo and Pacos de Ferreira will take a cautious approach in a bid to avoid dropping valuable points. We predict both sides will cancel out each other's efforts and hold out for a point apiece.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
