Two sides who saw their Taca de Portugal campaigns come to an end last time out square off at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas where Moreirense play host to Estoril Praia on Tuesday.
The hosts head into the game aiming to snap their seven-game winless run and move out of the relegation places, while the visitors could move level on points with fourth-place Braga with all three points.
Match preview
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With the 2021-22 Primeira Liga campaign approaching its midpoint, Moreirense will feel disappointed by their performance so far as they find themselves scrambling for points at the wrong end of the league standings.
The Minho-based outfit, who missed out on a place in Europe by just three points last season after securing an impressive seventh-placed finish, are currently bottom but one on the log, one point above rock-bottom Belenenses.
Moreirense have managed just one win all season — the joint-fewest of all 18 teams in the division — while losing seven and picking up six draws in their opening 14 games.
Their struggles so far has been in no small part owing to their lack of firepower at the attacking end of the pitch, where they boast the league's fourth-poorest record with 14 goals scored, with their luck in defence not any better as they have failed to keep a clean sheet in all but one of their 14 outings.
Moreirense head into Tuesday's game fresh off the back of a quarter-final exit from the Taca de Portugal courtesy of a disappointing 3-1 defeat at the hands of Segunda Liga side Mafra at the Estadio Municipal de Mafra.
While they now turn their attention to the Primeira Liga, Lito Vidigal's side have failed to taste victory in any of their most recent seven league games, managing three draws and losing four since a 2-1 win over Arouca on September 25.
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Like the hosts, Estoril Praia saw their Taca de Portugal campaign come to a close last time out when they suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Tondela.
In an action-packed contest at the Estadio Joao Cardoso, Leonardo Ruiz and Tiago Dantas scored for either side to end the first half level before the hosts grabbed a two-goal lead in the second half through Juan Manuel Boselli and Daniel dos Anjos.
Bruno Pinheiro's men now head to the Primeira Liga where they have enjoyed a brilliant top-flight campaign as they find themselves in the upper echelons of the table despite only gaining promotion last season.
Estoril Praia, who finished first in the second division last season, are currently fifth in the Primeira Liga standings, three points behind fourth-place Braga, after amassing 25 points from their first 15 games.
Next up for the Canarinhos is an opposing side who they have defeated in half of the most recent 16 meetings between the teams, claiming eight wins and four draws in that time.
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Team News
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Vidigal will be unable to call upon the services department of Dutch youngster Godfried Frimpong, who sustained a severe injury in September's game against Santa Clara.
Having recently returned from an injury lay-off, Galego was handed a seven-minute cameo in the cup tie against Mafra last time out and while a return to the XI might be too early for the 24-year-old, he could start from the bench once again.
Meanwhile, Estoril Praia remain without the services of Lucas Africo after the Brazilian defender picked up a season-ending injury in November's game against Vizela.
Romario Baro was handed his first starting role of the season in the game against Tondela last time out, but after failing to impress the Porto Loanee could return to the substitutes' bench on Tuesday.
Rosier Loreintz will push for a return to the XI for his 14th league start of the season and we could see the 23-year-old team up with Francisco Geraldes and Andre Franco at the centre of the park.
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Kewin; Conceicao, Rosic, Vitoria, Conte; Jambor, Mane; Pires, Soares, Walterson; Luis
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Silva; Soria, Farraresi, Patrick, Joaozinho; Loreintz, Geraldes, Franco; Gomes, Fonte, Xavier
We say: Moreirense 1-2 Estoril Praia
Moreirense have lost each of their last three games and while they will be aiming to end this dry spell, next up is an Estoril Praia side who have been impressive on the road this term. Despite their cup exit, the visitors head into the game as the more in-form side and we are backing them to pick up the win in this one.
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 Estoril Praia win with a probability of 45.43%. A win for Moreirense had a probability of 28.29% and a draw had a probability of 26.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Estoril Praia win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.03%) and 0-2 (8.34%). The likeliest Moreirense win was 1-0 (8.63%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.48%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 8.6% likelihood.
