Nacional will be seeking to snap their run of three back-to-back home defeats when they welcome Rio Ave to the Estadio da Madeira in round 33 of Primeira Liga on Saturday.
Petit‘s men, meanwhile, head into the weekend off the back of a comfortable home victory over Estrela Amadora and will set out looking to secure consecutive wins for the first time since November.
Match preview
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Nacional were guilty of a lack of cutting edge at the attacking end of the pitch as they suffered a 2-1 defeat against Vitoria de Guimaraes at the Estadio da Madeira last Saturday.
Tiago Silva and Jesus Ramirez found the back of the net to put Guimaraes in a commanding lead, and after Fuki Yamada pulled one back in the 73rd minute, Os Vimaranense held their own to see off a late comeback scare from the hosts.
Nacional have failed to taste victory in three consecutive games, claiming one point from the last nine available, and have managed just one win from their six matches since March 30.
Despite their struggles down the stretch of the season, head coach Tiago Margarido will be pleased with his side’s performance in the big leagues, having led them to promotion from the Segunda Liga last term.
The Alvinegros have picked up nine wins and six draws from their 32 Primeira Liga matches so far to collect 33 points and sit 13th in the league standings, nine points above the bottom three with two games to go.
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While Nacional will be looking to find their feet and gather momentum ahead of a tough season finale against Porto on May 17, next up is the challenge of taking on an opposing side who are unbeaten in 12 of their last 14 meetings, claiming seven wins and five draws since March 2014.
Rio Ave, on the other hand, returned to winning ways on Monday as they saw off Estrela Amadora 2-0 when the two sides squared off at the Estadio dos Arcos.
Following a goalless first half, Brazilian striker Clayton converted his 79th-minute penalty to hand the home side a deserved lead before substitute Martim Neto struck in the seventh minute of stoppage time to make sure of the result.
Rio Ave had failed to win their previous three games, losing twice and claiming one draw — a run which saw them crash out of the Taca de Portugal in the semi-finals courtesy of a 4-1 aggregate defeat against Sporting Lisbon.
With Monday’s result, Petit’s side have won nine of their 32 Primeira Liga games while losing 14 and claiming nine draws to collect 36 points and sit 10th in the standings, six points off Estoril Praia in the top half of the table.
While Rio Ave will look to continue from where they left off against Estrela and close out the season strong, recent results on the road offer little optimism as they have failed to win six of their most recent seven away matches, losing five and claiming one draw since the start of February.
Team News
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Nacional remain without the services of Spanish midfielder Miguel Baeza, who has been out of action since sustaining a severe muscle injury against Uniao Leiria back in October.
They are joined on the club’s injury table by the defensive duo of Lucas Oliveira and 29-year-old Ivanildo Fernandes, who continue their lengthy spells on the sidelines.
Veteran striker Daniel Sousa has missed each of the last nine games since coming off injured against Braga on February 21 and the 35-year-old is out of contention for this weekend’s clash.
As for Rio Ave, Greek forward Marious Vrousai will play no part in the trip to the Estadio da Madeira due to suspension after crossing the yellow card threshold with his booking against Estrela last time out.
On the injury front, Petit will be unable to name Francisco Petrasso and 21-year-old defender Brandon Aguilera, who have been sidelined through hamstring and muscle injuries respectively.
English defender Nelson Abbey has missed each of the last three games since coming off injured against Santa Clara on April 18 and is ruled out of Saturday’s matchup.
Nacional possible starting lineup:
Franca; Aurelio, Ulisses, Ze Vitor, Gomes; Dias, Soumare; Macedo, Esteves, Boia; Tagueu
Rio Ave possible starting lineup:
Miszta; Vrousai, Ntoi, Panzo, Richards; Tiknaz, Bakoulas; Luiz, Pohlmann, Morais; Clayton
We say: Nacional 2-2 Rio Ave
While it has been a turbulent campaign for both sides, Nacional and Rio Ave have guaranteed their top-flight status for another season and will be looking to close out the campaign on a high. However, we predict both sides will cancel out each other’s efforts and settle for a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
