Preview: Portimonense vs. Moreirense - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to pick up a third win on the trot for the first time since January 2019, Moreirense take a trip to the Estadio Municipal de Portimao to face Portimonense on Saturday.

The hosts, on the other hand, head into the game fresh off the back of a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Porto and will look to quickly move on from that humiliating result.

Match preview

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Portimonense were simply outplayed and outwitted by a rampant Porto side as they fell on the receiving end of a 7-0 thrashing when the sides squared off last Saturday.

The attacking duo of Mehdi Taremi and Evanilson put on a clinic at the Estadio do Dragao, scoring three and two goals respectively to hand the visitors their heaviest defeat of the season.

Prior to that, Paulo Sergio's men picked up what was their first win of the year when they saw off Famalicao 1-0 two Sundays ago courtesy of a first-half strike from defender Wellington Junior.

Last week's defeat against Sergio Conceicao's side further highlighted Portimonense's struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 34 goals and kept just one clean sheet since the 1-0 win at Moreirense on December 12.

With four games left before the 2021-22 Primeira Liga campaign draws to a close, Portimonense are currently 12th in the league standings, three points adrift of Santa Clara in the top half of the table.

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Moreirense, on the other hand, kept their survival chances alive and kicking last weekend when they picked up a comfortable 2-0 victory over fellow bottom dwellers Tondela.

Despite seeing just 39 percent of the ball possession, Rafael Martins and Kevin Mirallas scored first-half goals to condemn the CDT Auriverdes to their 19th defeat of the season.

This followed a 2-1 victory over Gil Vicente at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos, where Jefferson Junior struck twice in a 14-minute spell to end a run of seven games without a win on April 8.

Ricardo Sa Pinto's side have now won six, drawn eight and lost 16 of their 30 games this season to sit 16th in the league standings, one point adrift of Arouca just outside the relegation zone.

The Portuguese manager will hope his side can keep up this new-found form, particularly at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have found the target on four different occasions in their last two games, having previously scored four in the seven outings.

Team News

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Portimonense will be without 27-year-old midfielder Adewale Sapara, who is set to sit out his sixth straight game after picking up an injury in March's game against Benfica.

On the back of their horror display against Porto, Sergio could make several changes at the defensive end of the pitch, with the likes of Pedrao and Filipe Relvas coming into the fold.

Portimonense will be boosted by the return of Lucas Possignolo after the Brazilian defender missed the trip to Porto through a one-game suspension for picking up a red card against Famalicao on April 10.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old forward Yan Santos is out of contention for Moreirense after coming off injured just 12 minutes into the game against Tondela last weekend.

Like Portimonense, the visitors will also welcome back Fabio Pacheco, who has now served his suspension after receiving his marching orders against Gil Vicente on April 8.

Veteran forward Martins ended a 12-game goal drought with his strike against Tondela last time out and we expect the 33-year-old to spearhead the attack once again.

Portimonense possible starting lineup:

Samuel; Moufi, Rocha, Pedrao, Relvas; Ewerton, Fernandes, Carlinhos; Nakajima, Angulo, Junior

Moreirense possible starting lineup:

Pasinato; Frimpong, Rosic, Jorge, Mota; Mirallas, Franco, Jefferson; Santos, Luis, Martins

We say: Portimonense 0-1 Moreirense

Moreirense have turned their fortunes around in recent weeks, claiming two wins from their last two outings. They are unbeaten in six of their last seven games against Portimonense and we predict they will maintain their new-found form and come away with all three points on Saturday.