Preview: Estoril Praia vs. Maritimo - prediction, team news, lineups

Estoril Praia will look to extend their strong start to life back in the Portuguese top flight on Friday, when they welcome Maritimo to the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota.

Following their promotion last season, the hosts have collected seven points from their opening three games to move into the top three of the Primeira Liga table, while their visitors sit on four points after a creditable start of their own.

Match preview

After several years of narrowly missing out on promotion, Estoril Praia had a dominant campaign last time around, occupying first place in the Portuguese second tier for the majority of the season as they finished at the summit with 70 points from their 34 league games.

That saw them make a return to the Primeira Liga, and they got off to a strong start with an away win over fellow promoted outfit Arouca.

Andre Franco put them ahead inside the first five minutes, and the Canarinhos stood strong to defend their one-goal lead before Ryotaro Meshino sealed the three points with a second goal in the dying minutes.

Bruno Pinheiro's men then earned another commendable point in the second game, playing out a goalless draw with a Vitoria de Guimaraes side that finished in seventh spot in the top flight last campaign, before they made a return to winning ways last time out.

Estoril faced another tough test as they made the trip to Pacos de Ferreira, who finished sixth last season, and while Juan Delgado did put the hosts ahead, the Canarinhos drew level on the stroke of half time through Bruno Lourenco before late goals from Andre Franco and Joaozinho secured an impressive victory.

They will now look to for a third league win of the campaign to make it four games unbeaten and take their tally to 10 points.

After breaking out of the drop zone to narrowly avoid relegation last season, Maritimo headed into the new campaign with the hopes of a more comfortable finish, but they were handed a tough start as they hosted Braga, with goals from Raul Silva and Ricardo Horta firing the Taca de Portugal champions to a 2-0 win.

It did not take Julio Velazquez's men long to secure their first victory though, as Andre Vidigal and Ali Alipour hit early goals to put them 2-0 up inside 15 minutes against Belenenses in the following game, and while Alioune Ndour pulled a goal back for the hosts on the stroke of half time, Os Verde-Rubros stood strong to see out the win.

The Madeira outfit faced another particularly tough test last time out, as they hosted title-chasing Porto, but Velazquez's men come into Friday's game on the back of an impressive draw.

Luis Diaz put the 29-time Primeira Liga champions ahead in the first half, but Xadas equalised just before the break and Maritimo ground out the result to earn a creditable point on home turf, meaning they will look to extend their league unbeaten run to three games on Friday.

Team News

Estoril Praia should come into the game with a clean bill of health, while Pinheiro will only look to make limited changes to the side that picked up an impressive 3-1 away win over Pacos de Ferreira last time out.

Bruno Lourenco should again feature in the front three after his goal last time out, while winger Ryotaro Meshino will be pushing for a starting spot on the opposite flank.

Meanwhile, Andre Franco will offer plenty of threat from midfield, having already hit two goals in the opening three league games of the season.

They added to the defensive ranks with the loan signing of Nahuel Ferraresi, who impressed for Moreirense last season, and he should again play at the heart of the back four alongside Lucas Africo, who will play against the side that he left in the summer.

Velazquez seems to have settled on a Maritimo system with three centre-backs, and Jorge Saenz, Leo Andrade and Zainadine Junior should again line up in front of Paulo Victor between the sticks.

Despite the departure of talisman Rodrigo Pinho over the summer, Ali Alipour and Andre Vidigal still form a threatening front line, having both got off the mark for the season with goals in the win over Belenenses.

Xadas will continue to support the front line, having hit the equaliser against Porto last time out.

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:
Figueira; Soria, Africo, Ferraresi, Joaozinho; Franco, Gamboa, Crespo; Lourenco, Clovis, Meshino

Maritimo possible starting lineup:
Victor; Saenz, Junior, Andrade; Winck, Rossi, Mendes, Costa; Xadas; Vidigal, Alipour

We say: Estoril Praia 2-1 Maritimo

While we put the sides on a fairly level playing field, Friday's hosts come in on a major high following promotion and two wins from the opening three games, and we see them continuing their momentum with another narrow victory.

Pinheiro's men have shown their quality at both ends of the pitch, and we see them having enough to narrowly get past a resilient Maritimo outfit.