Preview: Casa Pia vs. Chaves - prediction, team news, lineups

This game sees a battle between two sides promoted to the top flight of Portugal last season, with both doing more than enough in the opening stages of this campaign to keep themselves away from a relegation fight at the wrong end of the table.

Match preview

After collecting a single point from their first two league matches this season, it looked as if Casa Pia would be entrenched in a scrap to maintain their top-tier status after being promoted as runners-up of the second division in Portugal.

Fast-forward to now and the Oeiras-based club are sitting fourth in the Primeira Liga table, sandwiched between Braga and Sporting Lisbon after collecting 23 points from their first 12 matches.

It was in fact Artur Jorge's Braga side who were Casa Pia's latest league victims, with a first-half strike from Brazilian Rafael Martins enough to earn a maximum at Estadio Municipal de Braga, another impressive result that has made the rest of the division even more aware of a new threat to the established clubs at the top of the Portuguese game.

Filipe Martins's side have won seven of their 12 league matches so far this season, with six of those successes coming by single-goal margins, highlighting how Casa Pia are not blowing teams away but are still managing to pick up plenty of points.

This idea is also supported by the fact that Martins's men have only scored 12 times in as many matches, at most half as many as any of the other four teams occupying top-five positions alongside Casa Pia heading into this weekend.

Fellow promoted side Chaves have made a steady start to life back in Portugal's top flight after a three-year absence following relegation in the 2018-19 season.

Vitor Campelos's side have collected 16 points from their opening 12 matches, with an equal amount of wins, losses and draws heading into the clash with Casa Pia on Sunday evening.

That points tally means that Chaves have a healthy seven-point gap to Gil Vicente in the relegation playoff place, which is not quite the remarkable 14-point gap Casa Pia possess but still represents a successful start to a first season back in the Primeira Liga.

Despite being away from relegation worries at the moment, Chaves have shown they are vulnerable to a beating from the bigger clubs in the division, losing 3-0 away at FC Porto in September and 5-0 against Benfica in their last away outing.

Sunday will be a real chance to see how two sides that came up to the Primeira Liga this season together have developed since their promotions, with Casa Pia surely keen to show Chaves their new-found effectiveness in front of their home faithful.

Casa Pia Primeira Liga form:

W

W

L

L

W

W

Casa Pia form (all competitions):

Chaves Primeira Liga form:

L

D

W

W

L

D

Chaves form (all competitions):

Team News

Casa Pia will welcome back Afonso Taira to the starting XI on Sunday after the midfielder served a one-match suspension during his side's win against Braga last time out.

Forward Martins has scored in consecutive games in all competitions and should maintain his spot in the side alongside Diogo Pinto and Saviour Godwin in a front three.

Chaves will be without full-back Bruno Langa, who suffered a hamstring injury in the win against Braga at the start of October, with 21-year-old Sandro Cruz to continue in that left-back role on Sunday evening.

Central defender Nelson Monte picked up his fifth booking of the season in the goalless draw with Santa Clara on Monday night, meaning Carlos Ponck is likely to deputise this weekend whilst the ex-Almeria man serves his suspension.

Casa Pia possible starting lineup:

Batista; Soares, Fernandes, Bolgado, Nunes, Lelo; Godwin, Neto, Taira, Pinto; Martins

Chaves possible starting lineup:

Vitor; Correia, Ponck, Vitoria, Cruz; Mendes, Pina, Teixeira; Arriba, Hernandez, Abass

We say: Casa Pia 1-0 Chaves

Casa Pia have enjoyed a marvellous start to the campaign and will need to realign their ambitions this season to more than just Primeira Liga survival.

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