Preview: Moreirense vs. Pacos de Ferreira - prediction, team news, form guides

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 05 November 2020

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Primeira Liga clash between Moreirense and Pacos de Ferreira, including predictions, team news and form guides.

Ninth hosts eighth in the Primeira Liga on Saturday afternoon as Moreirense entertain Pacos de Ferreira.

The two sides go into the contest with nothing to separate them in the league table, sitting level on wins, draws, defeats, points and goal difference.

Match preview

Pacos de Ferreira head coach Pepa pictured in June 2020 © Reuters

While these two sides have identical records going into Saturday's match, the mood in both camps could be significantly different given their form in recent weeks.

A coronavirus-affected Moreirense, for instance, have only won one of their last five matches since their opening-day victory over Farense, most recently going down 2-0 away to Rio Ave last weekend.

Pacos Ferreira, on the other hand, have amassed seven of their eight points from the last nine available to them, including a memorable 3-2 triumph over Porto last time out.

Pepa's side have also beaten high-flying Santa Clara in that recent upturn in form, and could now win back-to-back games for the first time since June.

Moreirense have reasons to be optimistic of preventing them from doing so, though, most notably their form at home, where they have picked up seven of their eight points this term.

A 2-1 victory over Maritimo in their last such outing means that they could now win back-to-back home games for the first time since March.

Pacos, meanwhile, have struggled on their travels and are winless on the road since the beginning of July, drawing four and losing once in that time - including a share of the spoils on their last visit to Moreirense.

That defeat is the only one away from home in their last five such outings, though, while Sporting Lisbon and Vitoria Guimaraes are the only teams to beat a visiting Pacos de Ferreira since February.

Moreirense Primeira Liga form: WLDDWL

Pacos de Ferreira Primeira Liga form: DLLWDW

Team News

Pacos de Ferreira head coach Pepa pictured in June 2020 © Reuters

Moreirense

Out: Miguel Oliveira (coronavirus), Nuno Macedo (coronavirus), Matheus Silva (coronavirus), Galego (coronavirus), Yan Matheus Santos Souza (muscle), Lucas Rodrigues (muscle), Kewin (muscle), Derik Lacerda (muscle), Pedro Amador (ACL)
Doubtful: Abdu Conte (muscle), Sori Mane (muscle), Andre Luis (muscle)

Pacos de Ferreira

Doubtful: David Sualehe (muscle), Jorge Silva (ligament)

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We say: Moreirense 1-1 Pacos de Ferreira

A combination of Moreirense's home form and Pacos de Ferreira's winless run on the road may lead us to predict a home win under normal circumstances, but Moreirense have been decimated by injury and illness, while Pacos are hard to actually beat on their travels anyway. We can see this one ending all square.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.