Nacional play host to Casa Pia on Sunday looking for the win that would move the club away from the relegation zone.
At a time when the home side sit in 13th position in the Primeira Liga table, the visitors are in seventh and pushing for a surprise spot in Europe.
Match preview
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On the back of promotion last year, Nacional would have accepted survival in the top flight if it were handed to them at the start of the campaign, and their outlook has not changed.
With nine games left, Tiago Margarido's side sit just three points clear of the bottom three, a consequence of losing 13 of their 25 matches thus far.
On a positive note, though, seven points have been accumulated from their last five fixtures, a draw with Estoril Praia coming in between victories over Farense and Famalicao.
Their only two defeats during that period came away at Braga and Benfica, two of the top four teams in the division, while they overcome Porto as recently as January 12.
Nacional go into this contest with an under-rated home record, earning six wins and 20 points from 12 games, and there is the expectation they will add to that tally this weekend.
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That is despite Casa Pia enjoying a strong campaign, building on their ninth-placed finish from 2023-24 to sit in seventh this time around.
However, Joao Pereira's side have lost four of their last six games that ultimately preventing them from sitting in the dizzy heights of fifth.
With the gap to that position being four points, Pereira will recognise that the Geese need to get another win on the board as soon as possible, ideally on Sunday as they look to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon last time out.
Although Casa Pia have lost their most recent three away fixtures, they had prevailed from the triple-header before then, and 14 points have come from their 12 such encounters during 2024-25.
Team News
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Matheus Dias is among a number of Nacional players who are bidding for a recall after the comprehensive defeat at Benfica.
Ruben Macedo and Joel Tagueu are also in contention for a role on the flanks, while Ze Vitor should start despite being just one caution away from having to serve a two-game ban.
Having pushed Sporting for 77 minutes, Pereira may be against making many alterations to his Casa Pia XI.
Max Svensson is an option to come back into the final third, but Clau Mendes, Kiki and Ricardo Batista are all in line to miss out through injury.
Forty-one-year-old Jose Fonte should partner Joao Goulart and Duplexe Tchamba in the back three.
Nacional possible starting lineup:
Franca; Garcia, Ulisses, Vitor, Appiah; Soumare; Dias, Esteves, Labidi, Tagueu; Teodora
Casa Pia possible starting lineup:
Sequeira; Goulart, Fonte, Tchamba; Larrazbal, Roberto, Brito, Lelo; Livolant, Caue, Sousa
We say: Nacional 1-1 Casa Pia
With both teams heading into this fixture on the back of a defeat, there could be some nerves on show at Estadio da Madeira. With that in mind, we can see a low-scoring draw playing out, one that would suit the home side more so than the visitors.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Darren Plant
