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

Os Acoreanos will head into the game seeking to get one over the home side, having failed to win any of the last three meetings between the teams since October 2018.

Match preview

Chaves were sent crashing down to earth in the Primeira Liga as they suffered a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of high-flying Benfica when the sides squared off last Saturday.

Rodger Schmidt's side ran riot at the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica as David Neres, Alejandro Grimaldo, Goncalo Ramos, Petar Musa and Rafa Silva all found the back of the net to hand the hosts a resounding victory.

Prior to that, Chaves were on a run of two consecutive league victories, beating Braga 1-0 on October 9 to end their four-game winless run before claiming 3-1 win over 10-man Gil Vicente two weeks later.

Vitor Campelos' men, who now head home where they are unbeaten in their last four outings, have now picked up four wins, three draws and lost four of their 12 league matches to collect 15 points and sit 11th in the Primeira Liga standings.

Santa Clara, on the other hand, turned in a resilient team performance at the Estadio de Sao Miguel where they fought back from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against reigning champions Porto last weekend.

Despite being under the cosh for most of the game and seeing just 35% of the ball possession, Kennedy Boateng struck in the 83rd minute to cancel out Fabio Cardoso's third-minute opener and force a share of the spoils.

This followed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over 10-man Vizela at the Estadio do FC Vizela on October 23, when Bruno Almeida netted with three minutes left on the clock to end their four-game winless run.

Mario Silva's side, who secured an impressive seventh-placed finish in the league last season, are currently 15th in the standings, level on nine points with 16th-placed Gil Vicente in the relegation playoff spot.

Santa Clara's underwhelming start to the campaign has been down to their struggles on the road, where they have managed just one win in 13 league games since the start of February, losing seven and claiming five draws in that time.

While Os Acoreanos will be looking to return to winning ways and steer clear of the drop zone, they take a trip to the Estadio Municipal Eng. Manuel Branco Teixeira, where they have lost four and picked up one draw since a 3-0 victory in March 2010.

Chaves Primeira Liga form:

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Chaves form (all competitions):

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

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Santa Clara form (all competitions):

Team News

Chaves will take to the pitch without the midfield duo of Sidy Sarr and Nigerian international Nwankwo Obiora, who have been ruled out through injuries.

Bruno Langan is currently recuperating from a hamstring injury that has seen him miss the last four matches and the 25-year-old remains out of contention for the hosts.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara remain without the services of Bruno Jordao, who is yet to feature this season after suffering a severe injury back in May.

He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow midfielder Costinha, who continued his long journey to full fitness after suffering an ACL injury in August 2021.

Portuguese international Paulo Henrique is set to sit out his sixth consecutive game after the 26-year-old came off injured in September's game against Pacos de Ferreira.

Chaves possible starting lineup:

Fagundes; Correia, Vitoria, Monte, Queiros; Guimaraes, Teixeira; Arriba, Mendes, Abass; Hernandez

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:

Batista; Sagna, Gonzalez, Boateng, Fagundes; Bobsin, Almeida, Firmino; Ricardinho, Tagawa, Silva

We say: Chaves 1-2 Santa Clara

Fresh off the back of a solid display against Porto, Santa Clara will head into Monday with sky-high confidence as they look to end their winless run against Chaves. While we expect the hosts to put up a fight, we are backing Silva's men to take the positives from their draw against the league champions and claim a narrow victory.

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