Pacos de Ferreira square off against SC Farense on Sunday evening looking to strengthen their hold of sixth position in the Primeira standings.
Despite prevailing from two of their last four fixtures, Farense head into the contest sitting in 17th place in the table.
Match preview
© Reuters
After their 13th-placed finish last season, everyone associated with Pacos de Ferreira will be delighted with their form since the beginning of the campaign.
While two games without success has halted their surge up the table, they remain on course for their best season since claiming third spot in 2012-13.
Their only defeat in six came by a 2-1 scoreline away at Benfica, but they would have expected more than a draw from their home meeting with lowly Boavista.
Pepa will expect his team to kick on during the second half of the season, although they will have to improve offensively with none of his players netting more than twice in the league.
Farense are competing in the top flight for the first time in almost two decades, but they are showing signs that they have the quality to remain in the division.
Despite remaining in the relegation zone, two wins from four matches have moved Sergio Vieira's team back into contention with the rest of the pack.
The home victories over Boavista and Maritimo brought two of their rivals closer towards the bottom two, and Leoes de Faro will now expect to record a third successive triumph at Estadio de Sao Luis.
Scottish playmaker Ryan Gauld continues to be the star of the team, contributing three goals and four assists from his 10 league appearances.
SC Farense Primeira Liga form: LDWLWL
SC Farense form (all competitions): DWLLWL
Pacos de Ferreira Primeira Liga form: DWWWLD
Pacos de Ferreira form (all competitions): WWLLLD
Team News
Goalkeeper Rafael Defendi misses out for Farense after he was sent off during the latter stages of the game with Sporting.
Hugo Marques will come in for his fourth appearance of the season, but that could be the sole change to the team which performed so impressively against the pacesetters.
Joao Pedro will expect to be given an opportunity in the Pacos de Ferreira side after netting his first goal from the substitutes' bench in the last match.
Mohamed Diaby and Adriano Castanheira are also pushing for a recall to the side.
SC Farense possible starting lineup:
Marques; Oudrhiri, Bura, Falcao, Nunes; Seco, Isidoro, Melo, Aouacheria; Gauld, Patrick
Pacos de Ferreira possible starting lineup:
Jordi; Fonseca, Marcelo, Maracas, Reabciuk; Carlos, Eustaquio, Costa; Ferreira, Pedro, Singh
We say: SC Farense 1-2 Pacos de Ferreira
Still sitting well placed in the table, Pacos de Ferreira can play with a sense of freedom in this contest. With Farense potentially happy to avoid defeat, the visitors could take advantage by applying late pressure in the final third of the pitch.
Top betting tip
Darren Plant
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 SC Farense win with a probability of 38.62%. A win for Pacos de Ferreira had a probability of 34.73% and a draw had a probability of 26.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a SC Farense win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.25%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.35%) and 2-0 (6.76%). The likeliest Pacos de Ferreira win was 0-1 (9.61%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.67%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood.
