Preview: Nacional vs Estrela Amadora - prediction, team news, lineups

Nacional will be out to secure their first win since January and move out of the relegation zone when they play host to Estrela Amadora in round 26 of the Portuguese Primeira Liga on Saturday.

Estrela, meanwhile, journey to the Estadio da Madeira in high spirits, following a dominant display against Casa Pia last time out, and will look to put together a strong run of form down the stretch of the season.

Match preview

Nacional dropped three more points at the wrong end of the Primeira Liga standings just before the international break, when they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Famalicao at the Estadio Municipal de Famalicao on March 21.

With nothing to separate the two sides at half time, 20-year-old defender Ibrahima Ba came up trumps for the home side after the break when he broke the deadlock from close range in the 63rd minute to hand them all three points.

Ba’s strike leaves Nacional without a win in any of their last eight Primeira Liga games, with the Alvinegros losing six and claiming two draws since the start of February, a run which has put their two-year stint in the top flight under threat.

Tiago Margarido’s men have been decent at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 39 goals so far, but their struggles this season have been down to their lack of bite in attack, where they have scored just 29 in their 27 matches so far.

Having finished just four points above the relegation zone last season, Nacional look set for another relegation dogfight, as they sit 16th in the Primeira Liga standings with 22 points, two points behind 15th-placed Casa Pia just above the dreaded bottom three and two points above Tondela in the automatic relegation places.

On the other hand, Estrela Amadora picked up three huge points in their quest for survival just before the international break, as they thrashed Casa Pia 4-0 when the two sides squared off on March 20.

In a one-sided affair at the Estadio Jose Gomes, strikes from Abraham Marcus, Eddy Doue and a brace from 34-year-old striker Rodrigo Pinho saw the home side cruise to just their sixth Primeira Liga victory of the season.

This was a much-needed result for Estrela Amadora, who had failed to win the five matches preceding this run, losing three and claiming two draws, and had managed just one victory in the previous 11 games across all competitions since the turn of the year.

With seven matches still to go, Joao Nuno’s men are not entirely clear of troubled waters, but the result over Casa Pia has seen them pull six points away of the danger zone, as they sit 13th in the Primeira Liga standings, level on 28 points with 14th-placed Santa Clara.

However, Estrela will be backing themselves to continue from where they dropped off before the international break this weekend, when they take on an opposing side who have managed just two wins from their previous nine encounters, losing five and claiming two draws since September 2008.

Nacional Primeira Liga form:

Estrela Amadora Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Nacional remain without several players down the spine of the team, with the likes of Ivanildo Fernandes (muscle), Lucas Franca (thigh) and Brazilian defender Ulisses (collarbone) all sidelined through injuries.

Portuguese defender Joao Aurelio has been ruled out since January through an ankle problem, while fellow countryman Jose Gomes is set to sit out his sixth straight game through a muscle injury.

Spanish midfielder Miguel Baeza is also a major doubt for this weekend tie, having recently sustained an injury, while 23-year-old Matheus Dias is suspended, having crossed the yellow card threshold with his booking against Famalicao last time out.

Estrela have their fair share of injury concerns, as the likes of Issiar Drame, Jefferson Encada and Nigerian striker Mathew Gbomadu continue their spells on the club’s injury table.

Brazilian midfielder Robinho is also out of contention for this weekend’s trip to the Estadio da Madeira due to suspension, after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Casa Pia last time out.

Nacional possible starting lineup:

Pereira; Nunez, Ze Vítor, Santos, Vallier; Witi, Soares, Labidi; Junior, Joao, Boia

Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:

Ribeiro; Scholze, Patrick, Schappo, Langa; Doue, Jansson, Sola; Marcus, Pinho, Stoica

We say: Nacional 0-2 Estrela Amadora

Buoyed by their solid display against Casa Pia, Estrela will head into the weekend in high spirits as they aim for consecutive victories for the first time since October 2023.

Nuno’s men are up against an out-of-sorts Nacional side who have managed just two points from eight games since the start of February and we are backing them to come out on top at the Estadio da Madeira.

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