Moreirense will be seeking to move out of the relegation zone when they go head to head with Boavista at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Sunday.
Os Axadrezados, on the other hand, head into the game unbeaten in each of their last three games against the hosts and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling and snap their two-match losing streak.
Match preview
© Reuters
Moreirense failed to move out of the relegation zone last Saturday when they fell to a slender 1-0 defeat against Portimonense at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao.
Brazilian forward Welinton Junior came up trumps for Paulo Sergio's side as he scored the only goal of the game inside the opening 14 minutes to hand the Portimao-based outfit their ninth win of the season.
Prior to that, Ricardo Sa Pinto's men ended their seven-game winless run courtesy of a 2-1 victory at Gil Vicente on April 8 before returning home to see off Tondela 2-0 eight days later.
Moreirense have won six, drawn eight and lost 17 of their 31 games this season to collect 16 points and occupy 16th place in the Primeira Liga standings, one point off Arouca just outside the drop zone.
While Os verdes e brancos will look to return to winning ways and boost their survival chances, next up is an opposing side who they have failed to beat in any of their last three attempts, stretching back to a 1-0 win back in June 2020.
© Reuters
Boavista, on the other hand, were on the receiving end of a 3-0 thrashing when they squared off against second-placed Sporting Lisbon last Monday.
Strikes from Matheus Nunes, Bruno Tabata and a 58th-minute own goal from Rodrigo Abascal saw Ruben Amorim's side ease to all three points and pick up their 24th win of the campaign.
This followed an equally disappointing 4-0 defeat at the hands of Maritimo on April 16, when Cameroonian forward Joel Tagueu scored a hat-trick to inspire Os Verde-Rubros to all three points.
With 33 points from 31 games, Petit's side are currently 13th in the league standings, three points adrift of Santa Clara in the top half of the table with three games to go before the season comes to a close.
While Boavista will be looking to arrest their slump in form and secure a top-half finish for the first time since the 2018-2019 campaign, they have struggled to get going away from home, where they have picked up just two wins from 15 games so far.
- L
- L
- L
- W
- W
- L
- D
- L
- W
- W
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Despite last last week's loss to Portimonense, Sa Pinto could name a similar lineup on Sunday, meaning we could see an unchanged back four of Paulinho Mota, Artur Jorge, Lazar Rosic and Godfried Frimpong shielding goalkeeper Mateus Pasinato for the fifth game on the spin.
Brazilian international Jefferson Junior has started each of Moreirense's last nine games and the 28-year-old could team up with Fabio Pacheco in a two-man midfield pivot.
Further up the pitch, we should see an attacking quartet of Kevin Mirallas, Goncalo Franco, Derik Lacerda and Brazilian forward Rafael Martins, who has six goals to his name this season.
Meanwhile, Boavista now have Tiago Morais available for selection after the Portuguese youngster was suspended for Monday's clash with Sporting Lisbon after receiving his marching orders in the 4-0 loss to Maritimo on April 16.
On the injury front, Petit will be unable to call upon the services of Miguel Reisinho as the 23-year-old midfielder continues his long road to full fitness after suffering a severe muscle injury last August.
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Pasinato; Frimpong, Rosic, Jorge, Mota; Junior, Pacheco; Lacerda, Mirallas, Franco; Martins
Boavista possible starting lineup:
Bracali; Cannon, Porozo, Abascal; Ferreira, Vukotic, Makouta, Malheiro; Gorre, N Santos, De Santis
We say: Moreirense 1-1 Boavista
Sunday's game sees two sides in need of a pick-me-up face off and this makes for an exciting watch. However, they head into the game in similar form and we predict they will take a cautious approach to avoid defeat and settle for a share of the spoils.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Moreirense win with a probability of 46.04%. A win for Boavista had a probability of 27.56% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Moreirense win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.04%) and 2-0 (8.58%). The likeliest Boavista win was 0-1 (8.67%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.51%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 6.6% likelihood.
