Moreirense welcome Portimonense to the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Sunday afternoon as both teams attempt to build on 1-0 victories last time out.
The hosts defeated Nacional thanks to a Steven Vitoria goal, while Antonio Folha's men saw off Belenenses after Dener Gomes Clemente struck in the 17th minute.
Match preview
© Reuters
Moreirense are enjoying the current campaign after picking up 17 points from their opening 14 games to leave them lying in seventh position.
Although Vitor Campelos has seen his side score just 11 times in the Portuguese Primeira Liga this season, Os Verdes e Brancos have one of the best defensive records in the division.
Despite their relatively high league standing, a defeat on Sunday could drag Moreirense back into the relegation mix, given the tight and congested nature of the league.
Campelos will be seeing the visit of a side five places below them as a perfect opportunity to put some daylight between his team and the bottom three.
The visitors have come into some good form of late, winning two of their last three Primeira Liga encounters.
A narrow victory on Sunday elevated them to 12th in the table, although they remain just two points above the relegation playoff place.
Much like their upcoming opponents, Portimonense's problems in 2020-21 have been in front of goal.
They have found the back of the net on just 10 occasions this season, something that will have to change if they are going to successfully avoid the drop.
Three goals in their last three outings and two clean sheets will give them confidence coming into this one, though, and a convincing victory could see them leapfrog Moreirense in the league standings.
Moreirense Primeira Liga form: DDWLDW
Moreirense form (all competitions): DWLDLW
Portimonense Primeira Liga form: LDLWLW
Team News
© Reuters
Moreirense have several first-team players unavailable through injury, leaving Campelos with limited options to choose from.
Full-back Pedro Amador and attacking midfielder Pedro Nuno are both unavailable after sustaining cruciate ligament injuries.
The pair are joined on the treatment table by Sori Mane, Andre Luis and Derik Lacerda, while defensive midfielder Fabio Pacheco is suspended.
Portimonense are one of many Portuguese teams to have a player test positive for COVID-19.
Brazilian goalkeeper Samuel is having to self-isolate after contracting coronavirus, while Lucas Fernandes and Pedro Sa are unavailable due to injury.
Moreirense possible starting lineup:
Pasinato; Ferraresi, Pacheco, Rosic; Figueiredo, A Soares, F Soares, D'Alberto; Pires, Silva, Santos
Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Ferreira; Moufi, Antonio, Possignolo, Anzai; Luquinhas, Willyan, Dener; Morte, Moreira, Oliveira
We say: Moreirense 1-1 Portimonense
This is likely to be a low-scoring affair with few chances conceded by either side, whose strengths lie in defence. We fancy them to take home a point apiece which would satisfy both teams.
Top betting tip
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 37.74%. A win for Portimonense had a probability of 32.71% and a draw had a probability of 29.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a Moreirense win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.14%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.53%) and 2-0 (7.37%). The likeliest Portimonense win was 0-1 (11.98%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.43%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 3.9% likelihood.
