After ending a four-game winless streak, Maritime travel to the Estadio de Sao Miguel to face Santa Clara during matchday 31 of the Primeira Liga on Saturday.

Os Acoreanos, meanwhile, will be looking to beat the visitors after suffering a 4-1 defeat when the teams met in the reverse game in December.

Match preview

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Santa Clara continue to struggle for consistency in the Portuguese Primeira Liga as they could only salvage a somewhat disappointing 1-1 draw with Arouca last Friday.

After a lackluster first half at the Estadio Municipal de Arouca, Andre Silva broke the deadlock nine minutes after the break, but Kyōsuke Tagawa struck in the 72nd minute to force a share of the spoils.

Before that, Mario SilvaThe men ended their three-game winless streak when Ricardinho and Tagawa scored in each half to secure a 2-0 win over Estoril Praia on April 10.

With 35 points from 30 games, Santa Clara currently sit 10th in the Primeira Liga standings, one point and three places behind Saturday’s visitors.

Elsewhere, Maritimo found their way back to winning ways in style when they comfortably beat Boavista 10 4-0 when the sides met at the Estadio do Maritimo last Saturday.

Brazilian defender Matheus Costa opened the floodgates with his strike in the 41st minute as Joel Tagueu scored three goals in 24 minutes to cap a sensational individual performance.

O Maior das Ilhas was previously on a four-game winless streak, managing a draw and suffering three defeats since a 1-0 win at Moreirense on March 6.

With just four games to go, the manager Vasco Seabra hope the victory over Os Axadrezados can serve as a springboard for some fine form as they look to end the season on a high and boost their chances of finishing in the first half for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.

Next up, however, is the stern test of facing Santa Clara at the Estadio de Sao Miguel, where they are unbeaten this year, winning six and drawing three since a 3-0 loss to Porto last November.

Form of the Santa Clara Primeira Liga:

Maritimo Primeira Liga form:

Team News

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Portuguese midfielder Costinha remains the only injury concern for Santa Clara as the 29-year-old has been out since last August when he suffered an Achilles tendon injury.

With his strike against Arouca last time out, Kyosuke Tagawa has now found the target in two games in a row and we expect the Tokyo FC loanee to spearhead the attack for the third game in a row.

As for Maritimo, Italian striker Stefano Beltrame continues his spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury in the match against Vitoria de Guimaraes on March 13.

Tagueu put in a performance of the highest quality in last weekend’s game against Boavista and the 28-year-old striker will once again be looking to deliver the goods.

Possible starting line-up from Santa Clara:
Pereira; Sagna, Villanueva, Boateng, Mansur; Carvalho, Nene; Costa, Ricardinho, Allano; Tagawa

Possible starting composition of Maritimo:
Viktor; Winck, M Costa, Junior, V Costa; Pelagius, Rossi; Costa, Henrique, Xadas; Shut up

We say: Santa Clara 1-0 Maritimo

Buoyed by the win over Boavista, Maritimo will go into the weekend with renewed confidence as they seek to leapfrog the hosts in the table. However, Santa Clara has one of the best home records this year and we expect them to continue that great run and come away with all three points.

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