Santa Clara vs Nacional - prediction, team news, lineups

Santa Clara volition invited Nacional to the Estadio de Sao Miguel connected Monday evening knowing that triumph could support their propulsion for a top-half decorativeness live heading into the last play of the Primeira Liga campaign.

The hosts person steadied themselves aft a hard spell successful April and stay beardown astatine home, portion the visitors question to the Azores looking to bounce backmost from a damaging decision that dragged them backmost into the relegation conversation.

Match preview

Santa Clara travel into this fixture successful comparatively affirmative spirits aft rescuing a 2-2 gully distant to Arouca past weekend, a effect that stretched their unbeaten tally to 3 matches successful the Primeira Liga. 

The Azoreans had antecedently defeated Braga 2-1 astatine location pursuing a goalless gully against Casa Pia, a series that helped them retrieve from consecutive defeats to Rio Ave and Sporting earlier successful April. 

While Santa Clara are nary longer successful information of relegation, Petit's broadside inactive person information successful the closing weeks of the campaign, arsenic they purpose to unafraid the highest decorativeness imaginable aft an inconsistent 2nd fractional of the season.

Their main spot has been their antiaircraft organisation astatine the Estadio de Sao Miguel, wherever they person collected 3 victories from their past four, securing wins implicit Braga, Gil Vicente and Vitoria SC successful caller weeks portion conceding conscionable erstwhile crossed those matches.

The hosts volition besides gully assurance from their caller grounds successful this fixture, having remained unbeaten successful the past 2 meetings, earning a melodramatic 3-3 gully distant from location successful January's reverse fixture aft recovering from a hard position. 

Nacional, meanwhile, caput into Sunday's contention nether acold much unit pursuing a 2-1 location decision against AVS past clip out, a effect that halted momentum built from consecutive victories implicit Tondela and Alverca. 

The Madeira-based broadside had looked to beryllium moving distant from occupation aft collecting those six points, but that caller setback means they inactive cannot afloat unbend with lone 2 rounds near to play.

Tiago Margarido's men person struggled severely distant from location passim the campaign, picking up conscionable 3 wins from 16 league games connected the road, with their caller triumph implicit Tondela ending an 11-game winless streak connected the road. 

However, the visitors cognize that avoiding decision present would importantly easiness unit heading into the last round, but their mediocre grounds astatine Santa Clara - conscionable 1 one topflight triumph successful 4 visits – suggest this volition beryllium different hard duty successful the Azores.

Santa Clara Primeira Liga form:

Nacional Primeira Liga form:

Team News

Santa Clara are expected to stay without semipermanent absentee MT, who continues his betterment from a superior genu ligament injury. 

Petit is different apt to support religion with overmuch of the broadside that earned a gully against Arouca, with Goncalo Paciencia continuing to pb the attack, portion Gabriel Silva offers enactment from the wing, hoping for goals successful back-to-back matches.

Nacional, meanwhile, volition decidedly beryllium without Ivanildo Fernandes and Ulisses Wilson, who stay sidelined done injury, portion Ze Vitor is suspended pursuing a sending disconnected past clip out.

Miguel Baeza is besides doubtful due to the fact that of a musculus issue, portion Lucas Franca is looking to marque a instrumentality from a thigh injury, though this crippled could travel excessively soon for him.

Jesus Ramirez remains Nacional's biggest attacking menace aft different beardown scoring play with 16 league goals, portion Filipe Soares volition again beryllium tasked with controlling midfield transitions for the visitors.

Santa Clara imaginable starting lineup:

Batista; Calila, Lima, Venancio, Romao; Tavares, Klismahn, Araujo; Silva, Paciencia, Santos

Nacional imaginable starting lineup:

Kaique Pereira; Nunez, Santos, Aurelio, Gomes; Labidi, Soares, Junior; Veron, Ramirez, Bola

We say: Santa Clara 2-1 Nacional

Santa Clara look to person regained stableness astatine an important infinitesimal of the season, and their caller location performances suggest they person capable organisation and attacking prime to borderline this contest.

Nacional stay unsafe going forward, but their distant signifier has consistently undermined them passim the campaign, and different hard evening connected the roadworthy could permission them nervously looking implicit their enarthrosis heading into the last weekend.

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