Portimonense and Casa Pia are back in action in the Primeira Liga when they go head to head at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao on Wednesday.
Still licking their wounds from their respective Taca da Liga exit, both sides will head into the midweek match-up in search of a morale-boosting result as they look to strengthen their position in the top half of the table.
Match preview
Portimonense suffered a disappointing group-stage exit from the Taca da Liga during the World Cup break as they picked up three points from a possible nine to finish third in Group E.
Following a shock 2-0 loss against Nacional in their group opener on November 19, Portimonense bounced back in their final outing before the World Cup break when they saw off Covilha 2-0 on home turf.
However, the Alvinegros were sent packing from the League Cup on December 14, when they were thrashed 3-0 by Gil Vicente on home turf courtesy of goals from Lucas Cunha, Kanya Fujimoto and Fran Navarro.
Paulo Sergio's men now turn their sights to the Primeira Liga, where they were denied a second consecutive victory for the first time since September in their final outing before the break as they were beaten 2-1 by Braga.
Portimonense have now managed just two wins in their last 10 matches across all competitions, while picking up one draw and losing seven matches since the start of October.
This has been owing to their lack of cutting-edge at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have netted just six goals since September's 1-0 victory over Chaves while allowing 15 in that time.
Portimonense have picked up six wins, one draw and lost six of their 13 matches this season to collect 19 points and sit eighth in the Primeira Liga table, level on points with Rio Ave, Chaves and Arouca.
Casa Pia, on the other hand, were involved in a friendly fixture against Roma on December 19, with the game ending 1-0 in favour of the Serie A side at the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira.
Experienced striker Stephan El Shaarawy netted the only goal of the game four minutes after the half-hour mark to end Jose Mourinho's side's six-game winless run across all competitions.
For Casa Pia, this followed a disappointing group-stage exit from the Taca da Liga, where they picked up four points from three matches to finish runners-up to first-placed Braga in Group D.
Filipe Martins's men now return to the Primeira Liga, where they failed to make it three wins from three in their final outing before the break as they lost 2-1 on home turf against fellow newcomers Chaves on November 13.
However, Casa Pia have enjoyed a seamless transition to the top flight as they currently sit fifth in the league table with 23 points from 13 matches and could potentially leapfrog fourth-placed Sporting Lisbon with a win on Wednesday.
Os Gansos' impressive start to the season has been down to their form on the road, where they are unbeaten in five of their six matches this season — picking up four wins and one draw — with a 3-1 loss at Sporting Lisbon on October 22 being the exception.
Team News
Portimonense will be without Brazilian forward Welinton Junior, who is set to sit out his sixth consecutive game after picking up an injury against Estoril Praia in October.
He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow countryman Carlinhos, who continues his long journey to full fitness after coming off injured in May's game against Sporting Lisbon.
As for Casa Pia, they will be without 25-year-old forward Leo Natel, who is out of contention for the trip to the Estadio Municipal de Portimao through a broken leg.
Saviour Godwin will also play no part in Wednesday's contest as the Nigerian is currently suspended following a straight red in the cup game against Trofense on December 11.
In his absence, 23-year-old Clayton will push for a starting role at the attacking end of the pitch, teaming up with Rafael Martins and Portuguese striker Diogo Pinto.
Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Nakamura; Moufi, Pedrao, Relvas, Seck; Ouattara, Diaby, Moreira, Oliveira; Cariello, Luquinha
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Batista; Bolgado, Fernandes, Nunes; Soares, Neto, Brice, Lelo; Clayton, Martins, Pinto
We say: Portimonense 1-2 Casa Pia
Portimonense and Casa Pia will be looking to quickly bounce back from their respective cup disappointments and mark their return to the Primeira Liga on a high. However, Martin's side have found a way to grind out results away from home this season and we predict that they will come away with a slender victory on Wednesday against an out-of-sorts Portimonense side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
