Preview: Pacos de Ferreira vs. Moreirense - prediction, team news, lineups

Pacos de Ferreira will be looking to return to winning ways on Saturday when they host Moreirense who sit 11 points and three places below them in the Primeira Liga table.

The hosts have struggled for consistency in recent weeks, while Moreirense will be hoping to build on a three-game unbeaten run in the league to put pressure on the sides above them.

Match preview

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Pacos de Ferreira continued their inconsistent run of form last time out, losing 2-0 away at second-placed Porto.

The game remained goalless until Pepe broke the deadlock in the 77th minute, and his header was quickly followed by a long-distance Sergio Oliveira strike to put the game to bed with 10 minutes to go.

As a result, Pepa's men have now lost three of their last five games, while winning only two of their last six top-flight outings.

That pales in comparison to the six-game winning run they went on in the Primeira Liga after the turn of the year, and Pepa will be desperate to get back to those levels quickly in order to maintain fifth spot.

He will be confident of doing that even despite the recent run of form, as Pacos de Ferreira have shown themselves to be very strong at the Estadio da Mata Real, winning eight of their 11 league games on home turf so far this season.

That home record will be put to the test on Saturday, as they host a Moreirense outfit who will be looking to narrow the gap between the two sides with an away win.

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Vasco Seabra's side secured a point from behind last time out, as Felipe Pires netted a late equaliser in a 1-1 home draw with Rio Ave.

That came after a 2-0 win away at Maritimo, as Filipe Soares scored a brace to seal a seventh league win of the campaign for his side.

Seabra's men have definitely shown improvement in recent weeks, having lost just one of their last seven league games, picking up an impressive tally of 12 points in that time.

He will be looking to add to that with a landmark win on Saturday, which would see the gap between themselves and their hosts reduced to eight points, and potentially see them move above seventh-placed Santa Clara.

Team News

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Pacos de Ferreira could remain without centre-back Marco Baixinho, who missed the last game with a muscle injury.

He is joined on the sidelines by midfielder Mohamed Diaby, who is out of contention due to an Achilles injury.

Midfielder Stephen Eustaquio has made a real difference to the side since Os Castores smashed their transfer record to bring him to the club on a permanent deal from Cruz Azul after a successful loan spell.

Moreirense remain without Pedro Nuno and Pedro Amador, with the pair both out of contention with ligament injuries.

Centre midfielder Fabio Pacheco missed the last game after coming off in the win over Maritimo, and he could remain out for this encounter.

However, they will be boosted by the return of right-back Anthony D'Alberto, who served a suspension last time out for picking up five yellow cards in league action.

Manchester City loanee Nahuel Ferraresi has cemented himself in the side with some impressive performances recently, forming a strong centre-back pairing with Lazar Rosic.

Pacos de Ferreira possible starting lineup:

Jordi; Fonseca, Marcelo, Gonzaga, Rebocho; Eustaquio, Carlos, Costa; Singh, Tanque, Ferreira

Moreirense possible starting lineup:

Pasinato; D'Alberto, Ferraresi, Rosic, Conte; Yan, A. Soares, Camara, Walterson; F. Soares, Martins

We say: Pacos de Ferreira 1-1 Moreirense

With the dust firmly settled on an impressive winning run for the hosts, we see these sides on a fairly level playing field at this stage of the season, largely down to the steady improvement of Moreirense.

Both sides possess fairly impressive combinations of defence and attack, and we see them splitting the points in a very close encounter on Saturday.