Winless Estrela Amadora host out-of-form Moreirense at Estadio Jose Gomes in Saturday's Primeira Liga action, keen to end their unwanted six-match drought in gameweek seven.
Although the home side rank second-bottom after six games, they welcome a side that have struggled since notching back-to-back league victories to start the 2024-25 campaign.
Match preview
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Estrela are one of two Primeira Liga sides yet to secure maximum points after six games, two points clear of a cellar-dwelling Farense that have lost six on the trot.
Having ended a three-game losing streak with a 2-2 draw in their last home match with struggling Boavista, Tricolores could be forgiven for thinking scoring twice in one game — which saw them double their goal tally in the season's opening four league matches — was the fillip this team needed.
However, a 1-0 reverse at Santa Clara in week six saw the Lisbon side fall to their fourth league loss in six rounds, ultimately resulting in Filipe Martins's departure.
Jose Faria is reported to have taken charge of the Tricolours until the international break, and the interim boss aims to improve the home side in the attacking third, having failed to score in four of their six matches.
To achieve that, Estrela must overcome the mental block of not defeating their opponents in seven meetings dating to September 2003, losing five in that period.
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Although the corresponding encounter saw Moreirense notch a 1-0 success in Lisbon, the reverse meeting in April ended 2-2, and the away side hope that the Tricolours do not carry the confidence from that match-up into Saturday.
While Cesar Peixoto has no history of this fixture, he hopes to avoid becoming the first manager to fall to the Lisbon outfit, even if that requires an improved showing from his players following their recent drop-off.
The Minho-based club began life under the new boss with consecutive victories against Farense (2-1) and Arouca (3-1) but that optimism has given way to negative results, with two points accrued from a possible 12.
More problematic for Peixoto is the two-match losing road sequence in which consecutive 3-1 defeats have been suffered at Braga and Casa Pia, but Os homens de Moreira de Conegos aim to avoid a third straight away loss this weekend.
While their previous away opponents rank in the league's top 10, Moreirense hope to take advantage of the lowly Estrela's poor start and dominance in this fixture to snap a dispiriting four-match run without winning.
Team News
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Ferro has a knee injury that should rule him out for Estrela, while Issiar Drame has a muscle issue for the hosts; Miguel Lopes and Manuel Keliano are doubtful for Sunday's match-up due to unspecified injuries.
Despite their struggles in front of goal, Kikas remains the home side's leading goalscoring threat, and the forward aims to add to his two league strikes this term.
While the away team will evaluate Alan and Lawrence Ofori, Hernani Infande and Guilherme Liberato are likely to be out of the game.
If Alan does not feature, Peixoto must replace the team's most creative source, with Madson de Souza Silva (1.3 key passes per game) coming closest to the former's 2.8.
Even though he trails Viktor Gyokeres (10) by seven goals, only three players — Wenderson Galeno, Kanya Fujimoto and Pedro Goncalves (four) — have netted more than Luis Asue's three league goals this term, and the forward hopes to add to that number in Saturday's fixture.
Estrela Amadora possible starting lineup:
Brigido; Veiga, Cissokho, Gabriel, Varela; Bucca, Cordeiro; Nani, Ruiz, Cabral; Kikas
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Kewin; Fabiano, Maracas, Marcelo, Frimpong; Ofori, Alan, Tavares; Antonisse, Asue, Madson
We say: Estrela Amadora 1-1 Moreirense
While Estrela could respond to the managerial change positively, they may have to settle for a point against a Moreirense side that typically thrives in this fixture, notching 4-2 and 1-0 wins in the last two visits.
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