Seeking to maintain their five-game unbeaten run across all competitions, Portimonense play host to Estoril Praia at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao on Sunday.
Both sides head into the game off the back of securing a place in the next round of the Taca de Portugal and will be looking to keep the juggernaut rolling.
Match preview
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Portimonense booked their place in the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal last Sunday when they saw off third-tier side Oliveirense on penalties at the Estadio Carlos Osorio.
With the score level at 3-3 after 120 minutes, the game went to penalties where the visitors claimed a 5-4 win after 25-year-old midfielder Kazuya Onohara missed the decisive kick.
Prior to that, Portimonense produced an upset in the Primeira Liga as they claimed a 1-0 victory over league leaders Benfica when the sides met at the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica three Sundays ago.
Despite seeing just 31% of the ball possession, Brazilian forward Lucas Possignolo got off the mark for the season when he struck in the 66th minute to hand the visitors a rare win over As Aguias.
Paulo Sergio's men are now unbeaten in each of their most recent five games across all competitions, picking up two wins and three draws since a 1-0 loss against Pacos de Ferreira back in August.
While Portimonense will be looking to maintain this fine run of form, they face an opposing side who are unbeaten in the last four encounters between the sides, claiming three wins and picking up one draw in that time.
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Similarly, Estoril Praia progressed to the next round of the Taca de Portugal courtesy of a 1-0 victory away to third-tier Felgueiras last time out.
In a game where Danilo received his marching orders, Leonardo Ruiz came up trumps for the visitors as he converted his 37th-minute penalty to condemn the hosts to a third-round exit.
The Canarinhos now return to the Primeira Liga where they have suffered a slump in form and are without a win in any of their last three outings since claiming successive wins over Pacos de Ferreira, Maritimo and Tondela.
For all their recent struggles, Bruno Pinheiro will feel satisfied with his side's performances so far as they are currently fourth in the Primeira Liga table, one point and one place above Sunday's hosts.
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Team News
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Sergio remains unable to call upon the services of veteran goalkeeper Ricardo Ferreira, after the 31-year-old sustained an injury in July's Taca da Liga qualification game versus Academica Coimbra.
Shoya Nakajima, who has been sidelined through injury since completing a loan move from Porto, made his Portimonense debut against Oliveirense last time out and the 27-year-old could be handed his first start of the season this weekend.
Renato Junior staked his claim for a place in the starting XI with his brace in the aforementioned game and the Brazilian youngster could also be rewarded with his second start of the season.
Estoril Praia, on the other hand, head into the game with a clean bill of health, meaning Pinheiro has the luxury of naming his strongest possible XI this weekend.
With five goal involvements this season, Portuguese midfielder Andre Franco has been on song for the Canarinhos and we expect the 23-year-old to handle business at the centre of the park once again.
Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Samuel; Moufi, Rocha, Pedrao, Cande; Oliveira, Fernandes, Carlinhos, Boa Morte; Fabricio, Junior
Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Soria, Patrick, Africo, Joaozinho; Geraldes, Gamboa; Franco, Gomes, Chiquinho; Fonte
We say: Portimonense 2-1 Estoril Praia
With just one point and one place between the sides in the upper echelons of the table, this game has all the makings of an absorbing contest. Both sides head into the game in contrasting form, with Portimonense being the better side and we predict they will keep the juggernaut rolling and come out victorious in this one.
Top 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 Estoril Praia win with a probability of 36.84%. A win for Portimonense had a probability of 33.53% and a draw had a probability of 29.6%.
The most likely scoreline for a Estoril Praia win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.99%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.41%) and 0-2 (7.15%). The likeliest Portimonense win was 1-0 (12.22%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.46%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Estoril Praia would win this match.
