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

The competition's bottom side and the club four places above them in the table lost their games last weekend against Estoril Praia and Benfica, respectively.

Match preview

With four games left in this year's campaign, Santa Clara faces an uphill task to avoid relegation from the Primeira Liga.

The Azoreans are 12 points from safety but could still target a relegation playoff position, with Maritimo only two places and six points clear of the bottom side.

However, a run of one point from an available 15 does not bode well for those prospects in the campaign's denouement.

Danildo Accioly's men have not secured maximum points since November, a 17-game wait that has brought about their relegation scrap this term.

That last victory came during a four-game unbeaten run, in which Santa Clara shared the spoils with title-chasing Porto, but that was a long time ago, and the Azoreans must battle their ongoing reality.

A win over Gil Vicente is doable, especially as the visitors have lost three league games on the trot.

The last of those defeats came against Benfica, a game success was far from guaranteed because of the chasm in quality between the clubs.

Daniel Sousa's troops are 11 points away from the bottom two and nine clear of the relegation playoff spot, giving them leeway for the rest of the campaign.

The Roosters' commendable defensive record — they have conceded only 36 times — is by far the best in the top-flight's bottom five, indicating that the 14th-placed side are not expected to collapse in their remaining four games.

A seven-game winless run (five defeats) would be worrying in normal circumstances, but the results of the teams below Gil Vicente suggest Sousa's men should stay up this term.

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

L

L

L

L

D

L

Gil Vicente Primeira Liga form:

L

D

D

L

L

L

Team News

Pierre Sagna should return to the Santa Clara lineup after serving a suspension following a booking against Chaves on April 23.

Marco Pereira has been sidelined with a knee injury since last October, and the goalkeeper is unlikely to feature on Saturday.

Gil Vicente have been without Ali Alipour for over two months, and the forward is not expected back this weekend.

Stanislav Kritsyuk — sidelined since mid-February — is unlikely to feature between the sticks for the visitors, who are also likely to utilise a 4-2-3-1.

Santa Clara possible starting lineup:

Batista; Sagna, Nogueira, Boateng, Henrique; Jordao, Adriano; Ricardinho, Costinha, Allano; Babi

Gil Vicente possible starting lineup:

Andrew; Carlos, Araujo, Fernandes, Marin; Fujimoto, Carvalho, Aburjania; Souza, Navarro, Boselli

We say: Santa Clara 1-1 Gil Vicente

Even though Salta Clara have found the back of the net in four of their last six games at the Sao Miguel, their tendency to concede means a low-scoring draw could be in the offing.

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