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Looking for their first win in three games, Moreirense take on league leaders Sporting in Portuguese Primeira Liga action on Monday.
The match will take place at the 9,000-capacity Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas.
The visitors have been the most dominant team in the Primeira Liga so far. They currently lead the league with 64 points from 24 games and are yet to taste defeat this season.
Eighth-placed Moreirense will aim to avoid consecutive losses for the second time this season after falling to a 3-0 defeat against Pacos de Ferreira last time out.
Os Verdes e Brancos have now won just once in their last six outings, picking up three draws and suffering two defeats.
Vasco Seabra’s men face the uphill task of squaring off with Sporting, who continue to strengthen their position at the top of the table.
The league leaders maintained their 10-point lead at the top of the table with a 1-0 win over Vitoria last time out.
That win made it 11 wins from their last 12 games for Ruben Amorim’s men, who are now all but certain to lift their first league title since the 2001-02 season.
Os Leoes have been superb at the defensive end of the pitch, where they boast the best record in the top-flight.
Sporting follows this tie with a home game against Farense, while Moreirense travel to Gil Vicente on the 11 April.
Moreirense vs Sporting Head-To-Head
A look at the head-to-head record shows Sporting have been dominant in this fixture. They have picked up 17 wins and five draws in 24 meetings with Moreirense. The hosts have only managed two wins in this fixture.
Their most recent encounter came in November 2020, when Sporting claimed a 2-1 win on home turf.
Moreirense Form Guide (all competitions): L-D-W-D-L
Sporting Form Guide (all competitions): W-D-W-W-W
Moreirense vs Sporting Team News
Moreirense
Moreirense will be without a few key players heading into this tie. Midfielder Pedro Nuno is still on the sidelines with a meniscus injury.
He is joined on the treatment table by Sori Mane and Pedro Amador, who are out with muscle and ACL injuries respectively.
Injured: Pedro Nuno, Sori Mane, Pedro Amador.
Suspended: None
Sporting
Sporting Lisbon welcome back Vitorino Antunes and Matheus Nunes, who tested positive for COVID-19 recently.
Ruben Amorim now has the luxury of a full strength squad with no concerns of suspensions ahead of this tie.
Injured: None
Suspended: None
Moreirense vs Sporting Predicted XI
Moreirense Predicted XI (4-3-3): Mateus Pasinato (GK); Lazar Rosic, Nahuel Ferraresi, Abdu, Matheus Silva; Fabio Pacheco, Yan, Alex Soares; Walterson, Goncalo Franco, Rafael Martins
Sporting Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Antonio Adan; Zouhair Feddal, Sebastian Coates, Goncalo Inacio; Nuno Mendes, João Palhinha, Joao Mario, Pedro Porro; Nuno Santos, Pedro Goncalves; Tiago Tomas
Moreirense vs Sporting Prediction
Sporting have been utterly dominant this season and they look set to run away with their first title in almost two decades. The hosts have also been decent so far, as they sit eighth in the log.
We predict a close contest in this one, with Sporting grabbing a narrow win at the full-time whistle.
Prediction: Moreirense 1-2 Sporting
