With a place in the 2022-23 Primeira Liga campaign up for grabs, Moreirense and Chaves lock horns at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas in the second leg of their promotion playoff final on Sunday.
Off the back of a 2-0 victory in last Saturday's reverse leg, the Flavienses head into the weekend in the driving seat and are now 90 minutes away from ending their three-year absence from the Portuguese top flight.
Match preview
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Moreirense suffered a huge blow to their hopes of retaining a place in the Primeira Liga as they were beaten 2-0 away to Chaves in the first leg of their playoffs final last Saturday.
In a cagey affair at the Estadio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira, Joao Teixeira and Joao Correia scored in either half to hand the hosts a vital first-leg victory and place one foot in the top flight.
Saturday's performance and result summed up Moreirense's 2021-22 campaign as they needed all three points against 10-man Vizela in their season finale to move out of the automatic relegation places amd secure a 16th-placed finish in the Primeira Liga standings.
Os verdes e brancos head into the weekend on a run of four defeats in their most recent five outings across all competitions — with their final-day victory over the Vizelenses on May 14 being the exception.
While Ricardo Sa Pinto's side look to overturn their two-goal deficit, they have struggled for results against Sunday's visitors, picking up just one win and losing five of the last eight meetings between the sides since 2014.
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Meanwhile, manager Vitor Campelos will be more than satisfied with Chaves' first-leg victory having watched his side bottle an automatic promotion ticket in the final two games of the Segunda Liga campaign.
The Flavienses picked up one point from the final six available to finish third in the league table, four points off second-placed Casa Pia who — alongside league winners Rio Ave — secured smooth passage to the Primeira Liga.
Now just 90 minutes away from a return to the Primeira Liga after suffering relegation three seasons ago, Chaves set out to pick up a third consecutive victory over Moreirense at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas.
Chaves head into the weekend unbeaten in all but one of their last 10 outings across all competitions — picking up seven wins and two draws — with a 3-0 defeat to Rio Ave on May 15 being the only exception.
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Team News
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With his opener in last Saturday's reverse leg, 28-year-old midfielder Teixeira has now been involved in four goals in his last eight outings and will look to deliver the goods once again.
He should be joined in attack by Higor Platiny and 29-year-old Wellington Carvalho, who finished as Chaves' top scorer in the 2021-22 Segunda Liga campaign with 13 goals in 34 appearances.
As for Moreirense, Brazilian forward Derik Lacerda is a doubt for this weekend's clash after the 22-year-old was hooked off with a 77th-minute injury on Saturday.
Should he fail to shake off his injury, Walterson Silva, who made 25 appearances in the just-concluded Primeira Liga campaign, should take his place in the XI, teaming up with Rafael Martins, Goncalo Franco and Paulinho Mota in the final third.
At the heart of the park, we should see a two-man midfield pivot of Sori Mane and Jefferson Junior, while Pedro Amador, Pablo Santos, Artur Jorge and Rodrigo Conceicao form the defensive line shielding Kewin in goal.
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Kewin; Amador, Santos, Jorge, Conceicao; Mane, Junior; Silva, Franco, Mota; Martins
Chaves possible starting lineup:
Vitor, Langa, Queiros, Ribeiro, Correia; Obiora, Guima; Carvalho, Teixeira, Bachi; Platiny
We say: Moreirense 1-1 Chaves
Chaves will head into the game with sky-high confidence as they look to pick up where they dropped off and secure a place in the Primeira Liga. While we expect Moreirense to put up a fight, we are backing Flavienses to do just enough to force a share of the spoils and secure an aggregate victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
