Looking to snap their seven-game winless run, Tondela go head to head with Maritimo at the Estadio do Maritimo in round 28 of the Primeira Liga on Sunday.
O Maior das Ilhas, on the other hand, head into the game without a win in any of their most recent five home games and will be seeking to end this poor run.
Match preview
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Maritimo continue to struggle for consistency in the Primeira Liga as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Gil Vicente at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos two Sundays ago.
Cameroonian forward Joel Tagueu put the visitors ahead in the 39th minute before Samuel Lino rebounded home his missed penalty on the stroke of half time to force a share of the spoils.
Vasco Seabra's men have now failed to win all but one of their most recent five games — losing twice and claiming two draws — with a 1-0 victory at Moreirense on March 6 being the only exception.
With 33 points from 27 games, Maritimo are currently eighth in the Primeira Liga standings but could move two spots up with all three points on Sunday as they sit two points off sixth-placed Vitoria de Guimaraes.
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Like the hosts, Tondela were involved in a share of the spoils in their last outing before the international break as they played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Arouca on March 19.
After Andre Silva opened the scoring in the fourth minute, Eduardo Quaresma and Salvador Agra netted to turn the game around and put the hosts in front heading into half time, but Silva delivered the goods once again as he levelled matters in the 69th minute.
Taking away the 3-0 cup win over Mafra on March 3, Nuno Campos's side have now failed to taste victory in seven straight outings, losing five and claiming two draws since the start of February.
With just seven games left to play, the CDT Auriverdes now risk dropping into the second tier as they currently sit 16th in the league standings with 22 points from 27 outings, one point off Arouca just above the relegation playoff spot.
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Team News
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With his strike against the Gilistas, Tagueu has now equaled Ali Alipour as Maritimo's top scorer this season with six goals, and the 28-year-old should lead the attack once again.
He should be joined in the final third by the trio of Andre Vidigal, Bruno Xadas and Stade Reims loanee Rafik Guitane, while Diogo Mendes and Pedro Pelagio anchor the midfield.
Zainadine Junior has started 25 of the 27 games so far and the 33-year-old should form a centre-back pairing with Matheus Costa, shielding Paulo Victor between the sticks.
While Algerian full-back Naoufel Khacef made his return from an injury lay-off against Arouca last time out, 23-year-old midfielder Simone Muratore continues his spell on the sidelines through an injury.
Another name on the Tondela injury table is 21-year-old defender Jota Goncalves, who has been out of action since picking up a severe injury back in September.
Renat Dadasov will push for a starting role on Sunday in place of Brazilian forward Daniel dos Anjos, who was hooked off injured inside the opening eight minutes against the Arouquenses.
Maritimo possible starting lineup:
Victor; Winck, M Costa, Junior, V Costa; Mendes, Pelagio; Guitane, Xadas, Vidigal; Tagueu
Tondela possible starting lineup:
Trigueira; Manu, Alves, Sagnam; Borges, Augusto, Undabarrena, Bebeto; Barbosa, Agra, Dadasov
We say: Maritimo 1-1 Tondela
Tondela's recent string of results has seen them drop deep into the wrong end of the table and they will head into Sunday's game in search of a morale-boosting victory. However, they face an evenly-matched Martimo side and we predict the spoils will be shared with both teams settling for a point apiece.
Joshua Ojele
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 Maritimo win with a probability of 46.6%. A win for Tondela had a probability of 27.35% and a draw had a probability of 26.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Maritimo win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.59%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.14%) and 2-0 (8.57%). The likeliest Tondela win was 0-1 (8.38%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.37%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 2.4% likelihood.
