Portimonense will be hoping to move out of the bottom three of the Primeira Liga standings this weekend when they take on Rio Ave at Estadio Municipal de Portimao on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts will enter the penultimate gameweek of the season in the relegation playoff spot with 28 points, while the visitors are in 10th place with 35 points earned over the same period.
Match preview
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The 2023-24 campaign has been another challenging one for Portimonense, and their top-flight survival has now come down to the last two games of the season, with this being their final home match before facing Farense in the final curtain of the campaign next weekend.
As it stands, Alvinegros are five points above the automatic drop and slipped three points from safety last week when they were taken apart in a 3-0 loss to champions-elect Sporting Lisbon at Jose Alvalade Stadium.
Goals from Paulinho, Francisco Trincao and Viktor Gyokeres secured the points for the Lions, who went on to clinch the title after Benfica suffered a shock defeat against Famalicao. Portimonense, meanwhile, lost ground to safety, with Estrela and Boavista both managing a point each in their games.
With this being their final home game of the season and having only won four of 16 away games this term, this match is an absolute must-win for Paulo Sergio's side. Unfortunately, their record of late suggests that this will be anything but a straightforward three points, having failed to win any of their last eight home games, losing six and drawing two.
When these sides met earlier in the season, Portimonense suffered a 2-0 loss, which extended their current winless run against this opponent to nine consecutive league games, including three draws and six defeats.
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That January victory for Rio Ave over Portimonense ended a six-match winless run in the league and moved them out of the relegation zone. Since then, they have not looked back, losing only twice in their next 15 matches while steadily closing in on the top half.
Last week, Vilacondenses put on an excellent performance to beat European qualification contenders Vitoria Guimaraes 2-1, marking their tenth consecutive league match without defeat, dating back to mid-February.
Against Vitoria, Joca opened the scoring in the first half before Ghanaian international Emmanuel Boateng doubled the advantage after the break. Vitoria grabbed a consolation through Nuno Valente late in the game but could not find an equaliser.
That result also secured Rio Ave's top-flight status for next season, as they are now seven points clear of the bottom three with just two games left to play and just two points away from breaking into the top half of the table.
While Luis Freire's side have failed to win a single away game this season, they have been very difficult to beat, with many referring to the side as the 'stalemate specialists', having drawn each of their last five league matches on the road and seven in their last eight.
Team News
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Portimonense are still without the services of Zinho due to an injury sustained back in February, which should see Hildeberto Pereira, Luan Campos and Helio Varela continue in the three-man frontline.
Filipe Relvas, Alemao and Pedro Henrique are expected to line up in defence, with Moustapha Seck operating in a wing-back role down the left flank. Carlinhos should provide the defensive cover as the deepest-lying midfielder.
Josue Sa has now missed the last five matches for Rio Ave due to a knock he sustained against Boavista back in March, and he seems set to see out the remainder of the campaign from the sidelines.
Joca has netted three of his four goals this season in the last five matches and should continue to lead the line here alongside Boateng and Abdul-Aziz Yakubu, who have netted seven and six times this season, respectively.
Portimonense possible starting lineup:
Nakamura; Costa, Pedrao, Alemao, Seck; Fukui, Carlinhos, Ventura; Pereira, Varela, Campos
Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Jhonatan; Pantalon, Santos, William; Costinha, Tanlongo, Graca, Embalo; Boateng, Yakubu, Joca
We say: Portimonense 1-1 Rio Ave
This is arguably the biggest game of the season for Portimonense, who will know that anything less than three points will likely see them end the season in the relegation playoff, or worse. Unfortunately for the hosts, they are facing a Rio Ave side that are unbeaten in 10 league games, holding the likes of Sporting and Braga to draws in that time.
This should be an intriguing contest, but we feel both sides will have to settle for a point apiece at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
