Santa Clara will be looking to move out of the automatic relegation places when they play host to Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio de Sao Miguel on Sunday.
Os Vimaranenses will head into the weekend looking to complete a second league double in three years against the home side after grinding out a 1-0 victory in September's reverse fixture.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having finished in the top half of the Primeira Liga table since the 2018-19 campaign, Santa Clara's four-year spell in the top flight has come under serious threat this season as they are currently languishing in the danger zone.
Jorge Simao's men have picked up just three league wins so far — the league's joint-fewest tally — while claiming six draws and losing 13 of their 22 matches to sit 17th in the league table, seven points away from safety.
Santa Clara's hopes of beating the drop suffered a fresh blow last Saturday as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against fellow bottom-dwellers Maritimo when the sides squared off at the Estadio do Maritimo.
Separated by just two points leading into the game, second-half strikes from Claudio Winck, Percy Liza and an own goal from Kennedy Boateng helped the hosts cancel out Gabriel Silva's 18th-minute opener and move out of the automatic relegation places.
Santa Clara have now lost each of their last three matches and head into the weekend winless in 15 consecutive outings across all competitions, claiming three draws and losing 10 since November's 3-1 victory over Estoril Praia.
A major factor behind this dire run has been their struggles at the defensive end of the pitch, where they have conceded 29 goals and kept just one clean sheet since their goalless draw at Chaves on November 7.
© Reuters
Vitoria de Guimaraes, on the other hand, continue their quest to secure a second consecutive appearance in Europe as they picked up a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Braga last Monday.
In a heated contest at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques which saw three red cards, Tiago Silva and Allison Safira found the target to put the hosts two goals up heading into half time before substitute Alvaro Djalo pulled one back in the 88th minute.
Joao Teixeira's side are now unbeaten in five consecutive matches, picking up four wins and one draw while scoring six goals and keeping three clean sheets since January's 1-0 defeat against league powerhouse Porto.
With 37 points from 23 matches, Vitoria de Guimaraes are currently fifth in the Primeira Liga standings, four points above sixth-placed Arouca just outside the Europa Conference League qualification places.
Next up for Os Vimaranenses is the challenge of taking on a Santa Clara side who they are unbeaten against in six of the last seven league meetings between the teams, claiming four wins and two draws since January 2020.
Team News
© Reuters
Santa Clara will take to the pitch without veteran goalkeeper Marco Rocha, who has been sidelined since October through a hamstring injury.
Pierre Sagna, who has 16 league appearances under his belt this season, suffered an injury in January and the Senegalese defender is set to sit out his seventh consecutive game.
Portuguese defender Tomas Domingos will also play no part in Sunday's encounter as he continues his long road to full fitness after sustaining an ACL injury last May.
Meanwhile, Vitoria de Guimaraes will be without Tiago Silva, who will serve a one-match suspension after picking up a red card against Braga last time out.
On the injury front, Teixeira will be unable to call upon the services of midfielder Daniel Silva, who came off with a first-half injury in the aforementioned game.
He is joined on the club's injury table by the Portuguese duo of Jose Carlos and Tomas Handel, who are currently recuperating from foot and hamstring injuries respectively.
Santa Clara possible starting lineup:
Batista; Nanu, Boateng, Italo, Quintilla; Almeida, Firmino, Misao; Ricardinho, Tagawa, Silva
Vitoria de Guimaraes possible starting lineup:
Varela; Maga, Villanueva, Amaro, Freitas; Bamba, Andre; Janvier, Andre Silva, J Silva; Anderson Silva
We say: Santa Clara 1-2 Vitoria de Guimaraes
While Santa Clara will be looking to stop the rot, they face the daunting challenge of taking on a Vitoria de Guimaraes side who have hit their stride in recent weeks. Having picked up four wins in their last five matches, Os Vimaranenses will head into the weekend with sky-high confidence and we are backing them to come away with all three points in this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
