Preview: Pacos de Ferreira vs. Belenenses - prediction, team news, lineups

Fresh off the back of an opening-day defeat in the Taca da Liga, Pacos de Ferreira return home to take on Belenenses at the Estadio Capital do Movel on Monday.

The visitors, meanwhile, are yet to taste victory in the Primeira Liga this season and will head into the game looking to end this dry spell.

Match preview

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Pacos de Ferreira were condemned to a 2-1 defeat in their Taca da Liga Group C curtain-raiser when they squared off against Boavista last Thursday.

After falling behind to Joao Pedro Silva's 20th-minute opener, Os Axadrezados upped the ante and turned the game on its head through second-half strikes from Yusupha Njie and Gustavo Sauer.

That poor performance was in keeping with their recent struggles in the league, where they have picked up one win from their most recent five matches.

With eight points from 18 available, Os Castores are ninth in the Primeira Liga table, level on points with Boavista and Gil Vicente, and will now look to end their struggles and strengthen their position in the top half of the division.

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On the other hand, Belenenses failed to pick up their first win of the season last time out as they played out a 1-1 draw with Gil Vicente.

In an end-to-end affair at the Estadio Nacional do Jamor, an own goal from Ziga Frelih put Petit's men ahead before Giorgi Aburjania came up clutch for the visitors as he struck in the 92nd minute to force a share of the spoils.

That was a third draw on the bounce for O Belem, who were also involved in a share of the spoils against Moreirense and Vitoria de Guimaraes in their previous two outings.

With just three points from the first six games, Belenenses are currently rooted to the bottom of the standings but could rise up to 13th place should they secure all three points.

The underwhelming start to the season has been down to their struggles on the road, where they are yet to find the back of the net and have picked up one point from three outings.

While they will be looking to claim their first win and get their season up and running, they go up against a Pacos de Ferreira side who have won three of the last four encounters between the teams, including both home and away fixtures last season.

Team News

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Pacos de Ferreira will take to the pitch without the services of 25-year-old defender Joao Vigario, who picked up a knee injury in August's Conference League qualification game against Segunda Liga side Larne.

He is joined on the club's injury table by fellow defender Fernando Fonseca, who has failed to shake off an injury he sustained against Braga two Saturdays ago.

Portuguese forward Helder Ferreira will also play no part in the game after picking up a straight red against Vizela last weekend.

Meanwhile, Sandro is out of contention for Belenenses after sustaining an injury in a pre-season tie against reigning champions Sporting Lisbon back in July.

Trova Boni returned to the fold last time out, having served a one-game suspension for seeing red against Moreirense back in August, and we expect the 21-year-old to handle business in the centre of the park.

Pacos de Ferreira possible starting lineup:
Ferreira; Silva, Ramos, Maracas, Antunes; Uilton, Eustaquio, Carlos; Delgado, Tanque, Silva

Belenenses possible starting lineup:
Felipe; Carraca, Ribeiro, Phete, Akas, Varela; Camacho, Boni, Coelho, Sousa; Safira

We say: Pacos de Ferreira 2-1 Belenenses

Following their slight upturn in form, we expect Belenenses to put up a fight in search of their first win of the season.

However, looking at their dire run of results on the road and past results between the sides, we are tipping Pacos de Ferreira to bounce back from their cup defeat and claim all three points.