Preview: Boavista vs. Santa Clara - prediction, team news, lineups

The home side head into the weekend unbeaten in each of their last five games across all competitions and will be aiming to keep the juggernaut rolling.

Match preview

Boavista put on a defensive show of class in their opening game of the season as they held on to see off Portimonense 1-0 when the sides locked horns at the Estadio Municipal de Portimao last Sunday.

Despite being on the front foot for most of the game and seeing over 60% of the ball possession, the home side failed to break down Os Axadrezados as Yusupha Njie's ninth-minute strike was enough to separate the sides.

Prior to that, Boavista were held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by Club Bolivar in their only pre-season game on August 3, when Bruno Miranda struck a second-half hat-trick to help the Bolivian outfit come from three goals down to salvage a draw.

Petit's side are now unbeaten in each of their last five games across all competitions, picking up two wins and three draws since May's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Moreirense in Minho.

Elsewhere, Santa Clara were denied a dream start to the 2022-23 Primeira Liga campaign as they played out an uneventful goalless draw with Casa Pia on home turf last Sunday.

In a game where Ricardinho received his marching orders, the newly-promoted side failed to take the initiative as Leonardo Lelo saw his 10th-minute penalty saved by a spirited Marco Pereira in goal for the hosts.

Prior to that, Mario Silva's men enjoyed a decent pre-season campaign where they picked up two wins and one draw in their five friendly outings while suffering defeats against Pacos de Ferreira and Maritimo respectively.

Santa Clara head into the weekend on a run of eight straight away games without a win in the league, losing three and picking up five draws since a 2-0 victory over Moreirense back in January.

While Os Acoreanos will be looking to end this dry spell, next up is the stern challenge of taking on Boavista at the Estadio do Bessa, where they have failed to taste victory in any of their last five visits, losing four and managing one draw since 2009.

Boavista Primeira Liga form:

Boavista form (all competitions):

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

Santa Clara form (all competitions):

Team News

Off the back of a fine-opening day victory, Petit has no major reason to tinker with his Boavista XI so we could see an unchanged back three of Reggie Cannon, Rodrigo Abascal and Filipe Ferreira, with Rafael Bracali between the sticks.

At the centre of the park, Pedro Malheiro, Gaius Makouta, Sebastian Perez and Yanis Hamache should all retain their midfield roles, while Njie spearheads the attack once again.

The Gambian forward, who scored five goals in 17 starting appearances last term, should be joined in the final third by Kenji Gorre and Luis Santos.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara will be without the services of Ricardinho, who received a straight red in the opening-day defeat against Casa Pia.

In his absence, Rui Costa, who netted seven goals and provided two assists in the league last season, should come into the mix, forming a two-man front line with Kyosuke Tagawa.

On the injury front, the visiting side remain without the duo of Marco Pereira and Costinha, who have both been sidelined through a ruptured achilles tendon.

Boavista possible starting lineup:

Bracali; Cannon, Abascal, Ferreira; Malheiro, Makouta, Perez, Hamache; Santos, Nije, Gorre

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:

Pereira; Sagna, Boateng, Gonzalez, Henrique; Carvalho, Bobsin, Silva, Barreto; Costa, Tagawa

We say: Boavista 2-0 Santa Clara

Boavista kicked off their new campaign with the perfect start, claiming all three points and keeping a clean sheet last weekend. They will head into the game with sky-high confidence and we are backing them to brush aside a Santa Clara side who have struggled to find their feet away from home.

Previews by email