Preview: Santa Clara vs Tondela - prediction, team news, lineups

Tondela will be out to secure their first Primeira Liga victory of the season when they visit the Estadio de Sao Miguel to take on Santa Clara on Saturday.

This will be their first encounter since the 2023-24 campaign, where the Azoreans won both home and away clashes between the two teams, scoring four goals and conceding twice across the two matches.

Match preview

Brazilian full-back Matheus Araujo was the hero for Santa Clara in their clash against Alverca last Saturday as he struck in the seventh minute of stoppage time to fire them to a 2-1 victory when both sides met at the Estadio de Sao Miguel.

Lincoln pulled Alverca level with a 19th-minute effort to cancel out Serginho’s ninth-minute opener, but with the game on course for a stalemate, Araujo came up clutch for the hosts as he headed home the winner with the last significant kick of the game.

After stumbling into the new season with successive losses against Famalicao and Moreirense, Santa Clara have weathered the storm in recent weeks, picking up two wins and two draws from their last four games, as they look to replicate last season’s performance.

Vasco Matos’s men won 17 of their 34 Primeira Liga matches last term while losing 11 and claiming six draws to collect 57 points and sit fifth in the league standings, securing their spot in the Conference League qualifiers.

However, Santa Clara’s quest for European football came to a brutal end in the final hurdle of the qualifiers as they were beaten 2-1 on aggregate by Irish outfit Shamrock Rovers in the playoff round back in August.

Next up for the Azoreans is the challenge of an opposing side whom they have failed to get the better of in any of their last four Primeira Liga meetings, losing twice and claiming two draws since a 1-0 victory in February 2020.

Having clinched promotion from the Segunda Liga last season, it has been a challenging return to the top flight for Tondela, who were held to a goalless draw by Estrela Amadora last Sunday.

A total of 25 shots were fired at the Estadio Joao Cardoso, but neither goalkeeper would end up picking the ball out of the back of the net, with a draw being a fair result upon reflection.

With that result, Ivo Vieira’s men have remained one of just four sides yet to taste victory this season, alongside Estrela, Rio Ave and AVS, losing four and claiming two draws from their six matches so far.

Tondela’s struggles in the big leagues has been in no small part owing to their lack of cutting edge at the attacking end of the pitch, where they have netted the fewest number of goals in the division heading into Saturday (2).

The Auriverdes clinched the Segunda Liga title last season, picking up 64 points from 34 games to finish just one point above runners-up Alverca and secure their Primeira Liga return since going down in the 2021-22 campaign.

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

Santa Clara form (all competitions):

Tondela Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Santa Clara remain without the services of 28-year-old defender Pedro Pacheco, who continues his long road to full fitness, having recently recovered from a severe knee injury.

Araujo came up clutch for the Azoreans against Alverca last time out and the 24-year-old should retain his role at the defensive end of the pitch, forming the back three with Sidney Lima and veteran centre-back Frederico Venancio.

Meanwhile, Tondela will journey to the Estadio de Sao Miguel without experienced midfielder Helder Tavares, who is suspended after picking up a red card while on the bench against Estrela last time out.

On the injury front, Vieira will be unable to name Brazilian midfielder Cicero, who is set to sit out his fifth consecutive game since going off with a groin injury against Famalicao in August.

Off the back of a solid defensive display against Estrela, we expect to see an unchanged back four of Bebeto, Christian Marques, Brayan Medina and Remy Vita, shielding Bernardo Fontes between the sticks for the Auriverdes.

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:

Batista; Lima, Venancio, M Araujo; Soares, Serginho, Firmino, Pereira; Brenner, Silva, Lopes

Tondela possible starting lineup:

Fontes; Bebeto, Marques, Medina, Vita; Rodriguez, Hodge; Henryque, Lopes, Cavaleiro; Pefok

We say: Santa Clara 2-0 Tondela

Tondela have struggled to hit their stride since returning to the big leagues and will be aiming to get their season off and running at the Estadio de Sao Miguel.

However, Santa Clara have put together a fine run of results since their rocky start to the campaign and we are backing them to get the job done in front of their home supporters.

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